By Our Reporter

Nepal and India have inked another agreement to expand the cross-border transmission lines.

The agreement for the development of two new 400 kV cross-border transmission lines—Dododhara (Lamki)-Barilly and Inaruwa-Purnea-- was signed in the presence of Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Dipak Khadka and Minister of Power and Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs of the Government of India Manohar Lal Khattar in Kathmandu on Tuesday evening.

Director of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) Kamal Acharya and Director of Power Grid Corporation of India Limited Dr. Yatindra Dwivedi signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the development of the two cross-border transmission lines.

Indian Minister Khattar was in Nepal for a two-day visit at the invitation of Energy Minister Khadka.

The new agreement was a follow-up agreement based on the 12th meeting of the Nepal-India Secretary-level Joint Steering Committee in New Delhi, India, on February 12, 2025, which had agreed to work on establishing a joint company to construct the 400 kV Inaruwa- Purnea and Dododhara-Bareilly transmission lines.

According to the agreement, Nepal will own 51 per cent of the joint company to be established on Nepal side and India will own 51 per cent of the company to be established on the Indian side. The remaining 49 per cent will be held by another country.

About 25 kilometres of the Inaruwa- Purnea line will be in Nepal, and 100 kilometers in India, while 35 kilometers of the Dododhara-Bareilly transmission line will be in Nepal, and 150 kilometers in India.

Indian Minister Khattar also inspected the Arun III Hydropower Project in Sankhuwasabha on Tuesday itself.

Khattar inspected the power house and dam area of ​​the Arun III Hydropower Project under construction with Indian investment.

During the visit, Minister Khadka and the visiting Indian Minister jointly inaugurated ‘Unit-2’ of the project and planted trees near the power house.

The Arun-3 Hydropower Project under construction on the border of Makalu Rural Municipality and Chichila Rural Municipalities of Sankhuwasabha has a capacity of 900 MW.

The foundation stone of the project was jointly laid by the then Prime Minister of Nepal KP Sharma Oli and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in May 2018 with the aim of completing the project in five years.