CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli has accused the Nepali Congress of scrapping the Budhi Gandaki hydroelectric project development contract with China’s Gezhouba Group Corporation in order to raise money for its election campaign.

Addressing a programme organised to introduce the left alliance’s candidates in Kathmandu on Tuesday, Oli claimed that the NC-led government had scrapped the agreement to award the project to another company by taking commission. He further charged that the NC had “sold” around one dozen such projects before the local level elections.

Budhi Gandaki, a national pride project of the government, has been highlighted as a key hydroelectric project to resolve the perennial power crisis facing the country. Currently, the government is acquiring land from locals in Dhading and Gorkha districts to build the project.

The project was recently listed as a component of the Belt and Road Initiative, the China-led plan that envisages greater trade and connectivity and supports construction of infrastructure projects in Asia and beyond.