First private power plant in Nepal

The first privately-owned power project in Nepal has started commercial production.

The hydro-electric plant in a hill district Ramechhap east of the capital Kathmandu, was built by a Nepali company with $140m of foreign backing.

The BBC correspondent in Nepal says its opening coincides with the government's drive to attract more foreign investment to develop a network of power plants in what is one of the world's poorest countries.

Our correspondent says production of hydro-electric power is still a fraction of what it could be in Nepal and the Nepali government has been wooing Western companies to get the funding it needs to realise this potential.

Last week it agreed to let an American company build a power plant, at an estimated cost of $1bn, in eastern Nepal.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service