March 27: An international conference on small hydropower development is going to be organised in the capital from March 28 to March 30.

The conference is going to be jointly organised by the Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) and Hangzhou Regional Centre for Small Hydropower (HRC).

The conference titled 'Small Hydropower Development Planning for South Asian Countries' will observe the participation of all the SAARC countries except the Maldives as well as China, in the conference.

According to NAST, there will be 19 representatives from the hydropower sector outside the country and 11 representatives from Nepal.  

The event is held in a bid to explore the possibility of Chinese financial and technical support in small hydropower projects in South Asian countries.

In addition to that, the participants will also share their experiences in the sector during the event with a purpose to learn from each other.

"The programme will mainly stress on the issues related to research, technology, technical assistance and investment in the sector," says Suresh Kumar Dhungel, Chief of Technology Department at NAST.

Among these, the matters which have potentials will be moved forward for agreement. Also, two working papers will be presented from Nepal which will include the report about the status of hydropower development in Nepal and experiences on resolving the problems faced. Other countries will also present their respective working papers during the programme.  

China’s interest has been increasing in the South Asian countries in recent years. China has been adopting various approaches to make connectivity with SAARC countries through roads, trade and cooperation in various sectors. The conference is regarded as one such link in a series of programmes.