With great sadness we announce the death of Peter Harwood, an ex-UMNer who made a tremendous contribution to UMN, and to Nepal.

Peter and his wife Valerie came to Nepal in January 1993, as BMS workers seconded to UMN. Peter was attached to the Butwal Power Company in Kathmandu. He will largely be remembered as the man who made the 60MW Khimti Hydropower project happen. In its time, Khimti was one of the largest ventures in the private sector in Nepal, a model for hydropower development in the country. Peter’s vision and leadership brought the USD 130M project to completion in time (all turbines began to operate in mid-2000) and under budget – a remarkable feat. In addition to a significant contribution to the national electricity grid, the project also provided rural electrification, community health and development to areas surrounding the plant.

In 2001, King Birendra awarded Peter the Prabal Gorakha Dakshinbahu in recognition of his contribution as “a loyal and trusted friend of the Nation”.

Peter and Valerie returned to the UK in January 2002. In recent years, Peter visited UMN several times and gave significant input on various organizational issues.

Peter passed away on 2 May 2013 after a short illness. We offer our heartfelt condolences to Valerie and to his children and grandchildren, and pray that they will experience God’s love and support as they grieve their loss.