The governments of Bhutan and Japan signed the technical cooperation agreement for the project on the Power System Plan 2040 yesterday. It is to update the master plans of hydropower projects developed in 2003.
The key tasks of the joint project include formulation of power system master plan 2040 and hydropower development plan.
Other tasks include reviewing of the current situation and future prospect, economic and financial analysis, improvement of transmission system development plan and capacity development for future power system master plan.
The project will also identify potential hydro power projects in the country. “We are going to shortlist the hydropower development projects and depending on the availability of budget at your side and based on the situation of power demand and supply in South Asian region, you may decide which hydropower development to be undertaken,” said Koji Yamada, the Chief Representative of JICA.
“And depending on our budget situation, we are going to support some of the hydropower development projects in the future.”
JICA officials said some $3 m has been allocated for the project. The Japanese government will dispatch seven JICA experts and necessary equipment including vehicles and provide support trainings in Japan for the project.
The project will facilitate the quality of studies in terms of project feasibility and capacity building. “There are lots of concerns in the country about how we proceed the hydropower projects in terms of sequencing and in terms of viability because of the experiences we have had thus far,” said Sonam P. Wangdi, the Director General of the Department of Hydropower and Power Systems. “So, this will contribute towards having better projects both in terms of better studies and better implementation for us.”
The power system plan 2040 will have a plan period of 22 years after its commencement in December this year.
