The Supreme Court has issued an interim order directing the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) to withhold an immediate payment of Rs 860 million to China Gezhouba Group Corporation Limited (CGGC), the Chinese construction company involved in the Chameliya Hydropower Project.
The order comes in response to a petition filed by the NEA, challenging a previous decision by the Patan High Court that had ruled in favour of CGGC. On Sunday, a single bench of Supreme Court Justice Bal Krishna Dhakal issued an interim order not to implement the High Court's ruling upholding the decision of the arbitration tribunal in favour of the Chinese company.
The dispute stems from the Patan High Court's earlier decision, which had ordered the NEA to pay Rs 860 million to CGGC as per the arbitration tribunal's verdict. However, after the NEA failed to make the payment, CGGC approached the court again. The High Court had also ordered the NEA to pay an additional fine, bringing the total compensation to Rs 1.59 billion.
The Supreme Court, however, has temporarily halted the implementation of the High Court's decision, until a final verdict is issued. The court has given respondents 15 days to submit a written response, excluding travel time, either directly or through their legal representatives.
The NEA had approached the Patan High Court on November 28, 2023, seeking to overturn the arbitration tribunal's decision, arguing that it violated Sections 30 (2) (c), (d), and 30 (3) (b) of the Arbitration Act, 2055. However, the High Court upheld the tribunal's decision on September 15 last year.
