KATHMANDU, March 25: Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has awarded the contract to install 50 charging stations for electric vehicles (EVs) to Jiangsu Jingdao New Energy Co Ltd, a Chinese company.
According to the NEA, the Chinese company was given the contract based on the technical and financial assessment of the bid forwarded by the company. Of the aforementioned number, the NEA has planned to install 20 charging stations in the Kathmandu Valley while the rest will be located along the East-West Highway.
NEA installing 10 EV charging stations
NEA Spokesperson Madan Timilsina said the power utility will be investing Rs 340 million for the project. According to him, the NEA will sign an agreement with the Chinese contractor after the legal formalities are done
Charging stations are considered the most prominent infrastructure for the promotion of EVs, the import of which has been increasing fast recently. The government has also been shifting its priority to promote EVs targeting to minimize the upsurging air pollution and reduce the soaring import of petroleum products at a time when the country is having notable production of hydroelectricity. According to a study, vehicular emissions are responsible for 70 percent of the air pollution in the Kathmandu Valley.
According to the Electric Vehicle Association of Nepal (EVAN), around 10 percent of the total vehicles plying in Nepal are EVs. There are an estimated over 50,000 vehicles of this variant in the country.
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