KATHMANDU, Nepal - Nepal intends to build 30,000MW of electricity capacity by 2035 as the market for Nepal's hydropower expands in India and Bangladesh.

Shakti Bahadur Basnet, Minister of Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation, stated on Tuesday, while inaugurating the project, that the government was preparing a comprehensive energy development program supported by a concrete action plan for the next 12 years.

"Under this program, we aim to produce electricity in the range of 25,000MW-30,000MW by 2035," Minister Basnet said on Tuesday at the foundation-laying ceremony for the 216MW Upper Trishuli-1 Hydroelectric Project.

Minister Basnet lauded South Korean investment in the 216MW Upper Trishuli-1 Hydroelectric Project, describing it as a significant and high-quality investment in Nepal's hydropower sector.

Nepal Water and Energy Development Company, a Nepal-South Korean joint venture, is developing the project in Dhunche, Rasuwa district, 70 kilometers north of Kathmandu.

The company completed its financial closure for the project in 2022, where it plans to invest up to $647.4 million to develop the mega project.

During the event, South Korean Ambassador to Nepal Park Tae-Young stated that Upper Trishuli-1 is the third hydropower project in Nepal to receive South Korean funding. Other projects completed with South Korean funding include Chameliya and Modi Khola.

Upper Trishuli-1, a run-of-the-river project, is expected to be completed within five years. After 30 years, the project built under the Build, Own, Operate, and Transfer model will be transferred to the Nepal government.