7: Capturing the economic impact of Large Hydropower Projects - with Investment
Board Nepal
OVERVIEW:
The Investment Board was established in 2011 with the goal of facilitating economic
development of Nepal by creating an investment-friendly environment by the means of
mobilizing and managing public-private partnership, cooperative and domestic and foreign
private investments, for making the process of
industrialization orderly and rapid, for the
development of infrastructure and other sectors to create employment opportunities, and
to offer meaningful contribution to poverty alleviation. Out of the projects under IBN’s
mandate, 5 are hydropower projects.
OBJECTIVE:
The overall objective of this fellowship position is to assess the overall benefit of Large
Hydropower projects, which will increase the understanding of the impact of such projects
on a regional and national level.
The analysis is expected to cover the effect of the hydropower on the regional and national
economic variables, and provide the costs, including underlying risks, as well as benefits
associated with a foreign developer investing in Nepal and possibly selling the output
outside Nepal.
The undertaking of such study will enhance the understanding of the scope of such
projects. This study will also help Investment Board to recommend changes, at the policy
level, to the government in order to make the project more financially attractive to the
developer.
ACTION
While the Terms of Reference (TOR) will be further refined upon further consultation with
the agency, the general areas of action are defined below.
(1) Research and Analytics Support
The study will entail an analysis of impacts of hydropower projects on the four areas of the
local and national economy:
● The Real sector
● Balance of Payments sector
● The Monetary sector
● The Fiscal sector
The variables that the consultant is required to explore include, but are not limited to, the
following:
● GDP
● Per Capita Income
● Consumption and Savings
● Multiplier effect
●
●
●
●
●
Employment
Exports
Imports
Inflation
Government Revenues and expenditures
Some of the costs that the fellow should explore are: resettlement costs, rehabilitation
costs, environmental costs.
Some of the benefits that the fellow should explore are: fuel savings, royalty to the
government, tax revenue, the multiplier effect of the domestically used energy.
In the process, the fellow should explore possible CDM implications to the projects.
Furthermore the fellow should conduct research on Carbon and Environmental Benefits
from large-scale hydropower projects.
(2) Adaptive Leadership Development and Capacity Enhancement
● The team of Fellows will partake a series of leadership exercise developed in
collaboration with Harvard University
● To equip Daayitwa Fellows with technical tools and contextual knowledge, the
following capacity enhancement support will be provided:
1. Introductory course on governance and legislation process of Nepal
2. Training on scientific methodologies for undertaking engagement activities.
3. Effective communication and relationship building skills
4. Writing skills for report, briefs, blog, peer-reviewed journals, wiki, and media
outlets
(3) Synergistic Collaboration
● The Daayitwa Fellows will work as a collaborative unit to understand perspectives,
challenges, and innovative solutions that could help achieve the common or central
objectives of governance reform.
● The Fellow will explore collaboration opportunities with Members of Parliament,
public, private and social sector.
● The Fellow will participate in advocacy and dialogue, through platforms provided by
Daayitwa initiative, such as panel sessions, symposium, and online forums.
KEY DELIVERABLES
The general timeframe of deliverables are listed below:
● Inception Report
● Bi-weekly progress update notes
● Bi-weekly blog entries
● Mid-term Report (to be built on to Final Report)
● Final-Report
● Daayitwa Summit organization and presentation
The following steps are to be taken for the completion of the Final Report:
1. Literature Review
2. Discussion on the proposed methodology
3.
4.
5.
6.
Surveys/Questionnaire used
Draft Report
Revisions
Final Report
The Final Report should consist of:
●
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An executive summary
Purpose and scope of the study
The methodology used for the study
The results of the Analysis
Recommendations based on the study and justifications
The Final Report should also include:
● Review of studies similar to the one described here in the context of developed,
developing, and least developed economies.
● Analysis of opportunity costs associated with the projects as well as the optimality
of such projects in terms of efficient use of economic resources.
● Analysis of how savings on fuel resulting from the success of the project mentioned
above will have an impact on a macro level, and the linkages associated with the
savings.
● A detailed study on the potential impacts of this project, especially for variables,
which cannot be monetized.
● Multiplier effect generated by the energy that these plants generate for domestic
use
In addition to the above list, Daayitwa Fellows will be expected to produce policy briefs and
undertake concrete-actions based on the needs identified during the course of the
Fellowship. The final list of deliverables will be stated in the Inception Report, which will
contain Fellowship Engagement Action-Plan.
COMPETENCIES
The ideal fellows will be highly motivated and talented Nepali youths living abroad or in
Nepal, who are passionate about Nepal’s development with the goal of leveraging their
outstanding credentials, analytical abilities, and professional and academic networks to
find practical solutions to solve our nation’s challenges.
Category
Academics
Required Qualifications(Must meet to
be considered)
●
Have high academic
achievement (respected
university, high GPA,
coursework rigor)
Preferred Qualifications(high
desirable in addition to the
Required Qualifications)
●
Academic rigor of the
academic institution
Professional
Experience
Availability
Daayitwa
●
●
● MUST be Masters Degree
holder
● MA in Engineering or relevant
discipline (PhD (concentration
or major must be directly
relevant to the topic of choice)
Masters completed with
some work experience in
relevant sector
●
Matching academic
coursework
●
Focused research
experience on relevant
area
●
Policy analysis and research
work in international or national
setting
For 4-6 months after June 1st
●
Passion, interest and a personal
sense of Daayitwa towards
Nepal’s development
●
Demonstrated leadership or
active participation in
Nepal-related initiatives or
issues
●
Desire to actively contribute to
Nepal’s development
Demonstrated leadership in
university, community or in
professional field