By IANS
Kathmandu : China has offered a NRS 8 billion (nearly $125 million) line of credit to Nepal, Nepal's state media said Tuesday.
A 12-member Chinese delegation headed by Assistant Commerce Minister Wang Chap met Nepal's Foreign Minister Ram Sharan Mahat Tuesday where the offer was made, Nepal Television said.
Nepal is asking for Chinese investment in the sectors of hydropower and infrastructure. Mahat said China would find Nepal a gateway to the South Asian market.
The visiting minister is also attending the meeting of the Nepal-China Intergovernmental Economic and Trade Committee that kicked off in Kathmandu Tuesday after two years, when it had been held in Beijing.
The Chinese side has shown interest in a specific hydropower project, Nepal's foreign aid division told IANS.
Nepal and China have been discussing building the 61 MW Upper Trishuli Hydropower Project in Nuwakot district for a couple of years.
Media reports last year said that the Nepal Electricity Authority would build the hydel project with loan assistance from China at a concessional 1.75 percent interest rate.
The estimated cost of the project was reported to be NRS 8.5 billion.
China is also building a hospital for Nepal's civil servants in Kathmandu and a ring road outside the capital. It has also offered to build an ayurveda research centre and a polytechnic.