A British water company found guilty of overcharging millions of pounds from customers in Europe, is set to take over the management of Kathmandu's water supply.

The company, Severn Trent Water, will take over from the Nepal Water Supply Corporation. It was the sole company left after three other companies withdrew their bids a few months ago. Severn will run Nepal's Water Utility Operator to be formed under a water utility restructuring scheme initiated by the Asian Development Bank.

Severn Trent Water is the fourth largest privately owned water company in the world. In May 2004, it was charged with fraud amounting to millions of pounds.

Recently, British industry regulator, the Office of Water Services (ofwat) ordered Severn to cut their bills by around us $73 million over the next four years for overcharging customers.