Modernization and Improvement of Electricity Distribution (WB-P501985)

Countries
  • Nepal
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Specific Location
Jhapa, Sunsari, Ilam Panchthar, Taplejung, Sankhuwasabha and Udayapur districts
Whenever identified, the area within countries where the impacts of the investment may be experienced. Exact locations of projects may not be identified fully or at all in project documents. Please review updated project documents and community-led assessments.
Financial Institutions
  • World Bank (WB)
International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.
Project Status
Proposed
Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.
Bank Risk Rating
B
Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."
Voting Date
Apr 30, 2025
Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.
Borrower
Government of Nepal - Ministry of Finance / Nepal Electricity Authority
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • Energy
The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.
Investment Type(s)
Loan
The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.
Investment Amount (USD)
$ 150.00 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Project Cost (USD)
$ 150.00 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Bank Documents
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ WB website

Updated in EWS Feb 28, 2025

Disclosed by Bank Nov 11, 2024

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Project Description
If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

According to the Bank’s website, the Project Development Objective is to enhance the electricity distribution network system in selected locations of Nepal.

The proposed Project, which will be implemented by Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), will construct nine new 33/11kV Substations at Jhapa, Sunsari, Ilam Panchthar, Taplejung, Sankhuwasabha and Udayapur districts. All the nine sites chosen for the construction of the substations are in the urban and rural settings in the Koshi Province. The NEA acquired the required land for construction of the substations as per the prevailing national laws and before the Bank was considered as a financier to the Project.

Early Warning System Project Analysis
For a project with severe or irreversible impacts to local community and natural resources, the Early Warning System Team may conduct a thorough analysis regarding its potential impacts to human and environmental rights.

This Project has moderate environmental and social risks. The construction and upgrade of substations and distribution networks that would enable supply of clean energy to consumers. This would require undertaking minor civil works, such as site clearance, excavation, and trenching, leading to air, noise, water, and dust pollution, solid and liquid waste from the labor camps, as well as e-waste from substation upgrade, distribution line construction, smart meter and auto-reclosure installations.

The Project acquired the land needed per the national laws before initiating discussions with the Bank for its financing. Since there will be no need for additional land acquisition, the chances of the Project encountering new land-based impacts are minimal.

Other social risks associated with the Project activities include inadequate stakeholder consultations and information disclosure, and weak grievance redress system.

Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.

Total Operation Cost: US$ 150.00 million

IDA Credit: US$ 150.00 million


Contact Information
This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

World Bank

Subodh Adhikari
Senior Energy Specialist

Borrower/Client/Recipient

Ministry of Finance
Joint Secretary
Joint Secretary, International Economic Cooperation Coordination Division, Ministry of Finance
moev@mof.gov.np

Implementing Agencies

Nepal Electricity Authority
Managing Director
The Managing Director, Nepal Electricity Authority
info@nea.org.np

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

To submit an information request for project information, you will have to create an account to access the Access to Information request form. You can learn more about this process at: https://www.worldbank.org/en/access-to-information/request-submission

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF THE WORLD BANK

The World Bank Inspection Panel is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who believe they are likely to be, or have been, adversely affected by a World Bank-financed project. If you submit a complaint to the Inspection Panel, they may investigate to assess whether the World Bank is following its own policies and procedures for preventing harm to people or the environment. You can contact the Inspection Panel or submit a complaint by emailing ipanel@worldbank.org. Information on how to file a complaint and a complaint request form are available at: https://www.inspectionpanel.org/how-to-file-complaint

How it works

How it works