A handover ceremony of Solar Energy Power Station  Project, built with the grant of the Government of Tibet Autonomous Region of China, took place at Lomanthang of Mustang district on Friday.

The handover document was signed by Baldeb Joshi, the local development officer of Mustang, and  Ma Qinsheng, deputy director general of Foreign and Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of Tibet Autonomous Region of China. Purna Chandra Bhattarai, joint secretary of the Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development, Jhabindra P Aryal, joint secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Purushottam Dhungel, consul general of Nepal in Lhasa, were also present.

A nine-member Chinese team, including  Cheng Ji, deputy chief of mission at the Chinese Embassy in Kathmandu, and Ni Ma Duo Ji, deputy chief of Zhongba county, represented the Chinese side.

“This support has greatly helped in the livelihood as well as socio-economic development of the people in

the districts. Such cooperation has substantially contributed to develop friendly relations between the peoples of the two countries,” said the statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

On this occasion, Bhattarai and Aryal expressed their gratitude to the government of Tibet Autonomous Region of China for their generous support on behalf of Nepal government.

According to the statement, the total capacity of this power  project is 70 kilowatts and provides power to 221 households of around 1,400 people in the area.

A development cooperation agreement for the project was signed in November 2014 for development focused on livelihood, living standard, healthcare, rural roads etc. For this, the government of Tibet Autonomous Region of China has been providing RMB 10 million each year for five years duration to 15 districts in Nepal that share borders with China.

The Solar Energy Poser Station Project built with the assistance of Government of Tibet Autonomous Region of China will power 221 households