A Singapore-based firm has pledged to spend $ 700 million to construct a 300-megawatt hydroelectric project in western Nepal. Elysee Frontiere Limited (EFL) President Sylvain Leveque signed an agreement for the construction of the Upper Karnali project, 575 km west of Kathmandu, which will be completed in July 2008.
The Elysee Frontiere Limited is a joint company of France, Canada, Singapore, Switzerland and the US and is making a sizable capital investment in Nepal to help its economy in the western parts, generate employment and strengthen democracy and human rights, Leveque said.
Under the agreement, EFL will give 30 per cent of the power production free of charge to the Nepal electricity board, to which the plant will be turned over after 30 years.

Profits from the sale of power will be used for local projects, including soil conservation, schools and health services, Leveque said.
He said the completion of the power plant would also allow the planned construction of cement and chemical fertiliser factories that would employ 35,000 people. Bureau Report