The provincial budget has increased by 25.55 percent compared to the last fiscal year.

Province 3 has received the highest budget of NPR 47.50 billion, while Far West Province has received the lowest NPR 28.16 billion.

All the provinces have come up with various interesting projects including cable car, monorail and tunnel roads.

Let’s take a look at the Nepal Province-wise Budget Allocation 2019-20 (2076-77):

1) Province 1

Province 1 Minister for Economic Affairs and Planning Indra Angbo tabled a budget of NPR 42.20 billion.

From the given amount, NPR 18.54 billion will be utilized as recurrent expenditure and NPR 23.57 billion has been allocated for capital expenditure.

Budget Allocation for Various Sectors:

• Education – NPR 1.28 billion
• Drinking Water and Sanitation – NPR 3 billion
• Irrigation – NPR 3.2 billion

2) Province 2

Province 2 government presented a budget of NPR 38.72 billion. NPR 19.11 billion will be set aside for recurrent expenditure, while NPR 19.26 billion is being used for capital expenditure.

The government has announced an allocation of NPR 30 million for each constituency in accordance with the Constituency Infrastructure Development Special Program. It has given primary focus to agriculture, education, and health.

3) Province 3

Province 3 Minister for Economic Affairs and Planning Kailash Prasad Dhungel unveiled a budget of NPR 47.6 billion for FY 2019-20.

It has dedicated NPR 24.46 billion as recurrent expenditure and NPR 22.03 billion as capital expenditure.

The budget will focus on developing infrastructure including ring roads and tunnels across several parts of the Province, tourism development, agro-sector modernization, and community farming among others says Minister Dhungel.

The budget also mentions replacing petrol run vehicles with electric vehicles by 2076 BS.

4) Gandaki Province

Gandaki Province Minister for Economic Affairs Kiran Gurung tabled a budget of NPR 32 billion for FY 2019-20. The Gandaki Government has allocated NPR 12.28 billion for recurrent expenditure and NPR 19.85 billion for capital expenditure.

It has given emphasis to programs and policies announced from the last fiscal. Additionally, it has allocated ample funds for the construction of ‘national pride projects’ within the province.

It has announced the development of Pushpalal Ring Road which will connect the Province’s 13 districts.

5) Province 5

Province 5 Chief Minister and Economic Affairs and Planning Minister Shankhar Pokharel announced a budget allocation of NPR 36.41 billion.

NPR 13.45 billion has been allocated for recurrent expenses and NPR 18.57 billion for capital expenditure.

It has given top priority to:

• Infrastructure and tourism development
• Agriculture sector commercialization and mobilizing the sector to eliminate unemployment
• Completion of Gautam Buddha International Airport

6) Karnali Province

Karnali Province Minister for Economic Affairs Prakash Jwala unveiled a budget of NPR 34.35 billion. The Karnali Province Government has allocated a sum of NPR 13.05 billion for recurrent expenses and NPR 21.29 billion for capital expenditure.

The Karnali Province Government has prioritized:

• Agriculture, infrastructure and tourism sectors
• Setting up the Karnali Infrastructure Development Authority as part of the budget allocation of NPR 1.2 billion for the infrastructure sector

7) Sudurpaschim Province

Sudurpaschim Province Minister for Economic Affairs tabled a budget of NPR 28.16 billion, including a contribution of NPR 12.57 billion as recurrent expenditure and NPR 13.06 billion as capital expenditure.

The government has prioritized:

• Agriculture, drinking water, energy, irrigation, infrastructure, and roads.
• Promotion of a model agriculture village with a budget allocation of NPR 5 million for every local unit

Hope the new budget allocation will help fulfill all the provincial governments’ development plans.

Related Stories:

• Nepal Budget FY 2076-77: Income Tax Slabs, Rates, and Concessions

The post Nepal Provincial Federal Budget 2019-20: Highlights & Objectives appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

The National Concern and Coordination Committee of the House made this recommendation after a detailed on-field study of the project.

The Committee asked the Tourism Ministry to come up with the new DPR within the ongoing fiscal year i.e. before July 2018, to proceed with the further process.

However, experts disagree with the Committee’s proposal terming that as ‘waste of time and money’, considering the government’s existing commitments and lessons from the past experiences.

According to them, the government already is still due to reimburse NPR 700 million to the Korea-based Landmark Worldwide Company (LMW) for its Detailed Feasibility Study (DFS) submitted in August 2011.

Experts opine that DFS is already a detailed document for the project’s potential and helps in complete investment decision-making, approval and planning.

Whereas, DPR is the study that lays path for further implementation of the project in terms of costs and benefits, among other internal factors.

But the real challenge is a DPR prepared by one organization cannot be used by the other. That’s where the experts say it’s of no use in preparing a new DPR by the government.

“Obviously, there will be need of the DPR but not one prepared by the government. The firm who will get the project will prepare the DPR on its own as per international practice. Hence, the Nijgadh Airport’s DPR is a waste of money,” says a source from the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN).

In its recommendations, the Committee also raised urged not to cut-down trees for project construction and asked the ministry to plan compensatory plantation with strict enforcement in all places where they are chopped down.

So far, more than 2.4 million trees have been cut down to build the airport.

The Ministry was also directed to ensure that the land allocated for construction lies in the name of the project.

Overall, the committee urged the government not to delay the airport construction beyond the set deadlines.

The post Nijgadh Intl Airport: Committee Pitches for New Project Report appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

High competition between the two Asian giants, India and China, to expand their base in South Asia is benefitting Nepal in its development.

The Himalayan nation stands in a strategic position between the two Asian giants, which makes it enjoy any part of development that the two countries vie for beyond their borders.

India’s efforts towards expanding its railways infrastructure resulted in the first-ever modern railway track for Nepal.

Indian Railways- A New Hope for Nepal’s Janakpur!
The new 34-km railway line connecting Nepal’s Janakpur with India’s Bihar is giving new developmental hopes for the country, in terms of business and tourism.

Nepali locals are elated at the new developments that the country is witnessing in the form of new railway lines and the new railway station that is underway.

“These train tracks are the best thing to happen to us in a very long time. We are all thrilled about getting a modern train that will make travel so much easier and cheaper,” a 62-year-old farmer Biswombar Sah reportedly said.

Another Janakpur local Naresh Chandra Jha, a restaurant owner, considers the new development as a boon to the region n boosting pilgrimage trade. “This is the biggest event for Janakpur. It will be a big contribution for development and boost the number of religious visitors,” says Jha.

While the new rail project under process connects only Jay Nagar and Janakpur, the upcoming
USD 80 million railway project is going to penetrate further into Nepal once operational.

Binod Ojha, an official supervising the new rail line project, has more to say about it.

The new railway line (once operational) will not benefit the passenger movement, but also facilitate easy movement of trade activity between India and Nepal.

“Once we start operating trains, people will be able to travel from here to New Delhi or even southern India. We will be well connected. Once trains begin to bring all these things from India, the cost will naturally go down. Our daily expenses will be much cheaper,” reads Ojha’s statement.

Developmental hopes aside, implementation part remains to be a long wait for many locals. The new passenger service connecting the countries is still awaiting its inaugural, which was expected in December 2018 on the occasion of the popular Bibah Panchami festival but did not happen.

India, A Step Ahead in Race
India is eyeing its railway expansion as a means to strengthen its foothold in the South Asian region and the move is being seen as a competition to the Belt and Road Initiative by the other Asian giant.

“Investment from both China and India are in the rising trend. It appears they are both competing with investments, but it is a healthy competition which is beneficial for Nepal,” said Uttam Wagle, a Nepal Investment Board spokesman.

However, analysts say that India is little ahead in the race enjoying high advantage of plain topography across the border, which makes it easy to lay railways.

“India has overtaken China in terms of connectivity by train because they have already laid down the tracks and the system could function immediately, but the Chinese plan is still on paper only,” says Dhruba Hari Adhikary, a Kathmandu-based analyst.

(Information Source: AP)

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The government announced its plans to bring a new law that would bypass public procurement process and allot projects to developers through direct negotiations.

According to the law drafted by PMO, the government will decide on developers for such national priority projects in the aforementioned price range, which is drawing huge criticism around.

The draft bill for national priority projects allows the government to decide on developers without competitive bidding only under three conditions.

• The government can award projects to developers directly if it fails to receive proposals in the public procurement process initiated by the authorities’
• When the project requires a new concept & technology and;
• If the estimated cost is NPR 50 billion or above

PMO officials confirmed that they are preparing the draft, however, declined to comment on the contents of it.

“At present, we are drafting the bill after receiving the Cabinet’s consent. We are yet to finalize entire provisions of the bill, so it is not appropriate to comment on its content,” says PMO Secretary Ramesh Dhakal.

Oli Government is considering the new law considering the delays associated with the global bidding process.

Experts disagree with the government’s decision saying that the new law would give more scope to corruption practices. They however agree with the need to bring in a separate act to govern the national priority projects.

“The law should be introduced after including provisions that can address the existing bottlenecks that have plagued the development of priority projects instead of including provisions that could promote corruption,” says National Planning Commission (NPC) former Chairman Swarnim Wagle.

“Instead of addressing these issues, the government’s bill if endorsed with the aforementioned provisions would promote corruption on a grand scale,” Wagle adds.

The post Govt. Mulls New Law for National Priority Projects appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

As the reports say, the government has recently drafted a new law for immediate implementation of mega infrastructure projects at an investment of more than Rs 25 billion.

The PMO has already forwarded the bill to relevant ministries and is planning to table the same in the Parliament in the third week of November 2018.

The draft law envisions ‘corporate model’ in project implementation and open competition in hiring core personnel required for the project.

“This provision ensures that no project faces difficulties due to staff transfers. This is to facilitate easy recruitment of officials,” says OPMCM Secretary Kedar Bahadur Adhikari.

The new law is going to bring a transformation in the project implementation procedures. It allows project initiation only after financial assurance and successful completion of pre-feasibility study.

“This is to ensure that only the projects whose necessary preparations have been completed will go for implementation, unlike the present practice where the majority of the projects are first announced by the annual budget and preparations follow,” adds Adhikari.

Projects under the new law cannot follow the Public Procurement Act (except for a few major provisions in the PPA) and bidding process, depending on implementation modality.

Whereas, technologically-complex and high-value projects, with no financial support either from government or private sector, can go for direct negotiation with the concerned parties after government’s approval.

“The major thrust of this law is that no project should face difficulties due to issues related to inter-agency coordination,” says Adhikari.

The new law doesn’t apply for existing projects other than the national priority projects that are yet to take off.

The post Nepal Brings New Law for Mega Infra Projects appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

ADB sanctioned a soft loan worth USD 180 million to assist Nepal in upgrading its 1,000 km East-West Highway that is central to the country’s domestic and international trade.

Scope of the Project

According to ADB, the ambitious project will encompass:

• Improving and reviving 87 km of the aforementioned road between Kanchanpur and Kamala
• Redesigning the highway section to accommodate a four-lane dual carriageway for addressing increased-traffic demand
• Laying a new road surface and incorporating drainage
• Fund civil works, equipment and support road safety campaigns to tighten road safety along the length of the East-West highway

“The highway’s road surface-Nepal’s busiest route-is in fair to poor condition and does not segregate oncoming traffic or slow-moving vehicles and pedestrians,” says ADB Staff and in charge of the transport sector Johan Georget, talking about the current situation.

“Improving the road will boost the efficiency of Nepal’s transport system, strengthen national and regional connectivity to promote growth and trade, and improve road safety,” he added.

About the East-West Highway
The road facilitates the passage of 8,600 vehicles per day, on an average and one-fourth of them are heavy vehicles. By 2033, the average number is expected to grow up to 25,400 vehicles.

Nepal plans to begin construction works in the first quarter of 2019 and will be completed by 2022, at a cost of USD 256.4 million.

Additionally, the ADB loan will fund preparation of detailed designs for future road projects along the corridor.

In the past ADB has funded several Nepal development projects including Nepal’s longest tunnel.

The post ADB Funds Nepal’s Big ‘Road’ Project appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

The visit comes as a follow-up to Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s April visit to India, who had then discussed with the Indian side about the development of Indo-Nepal inland.

The first phase of related discussions was held in Kathmandu, where it was decided that a Nepali technical team will visit India to conduct an infrastructure study on Indian waterways.

Briefing the team’s agenda, Nepali officials in New Delhi said, Nepal Water & Energy Consumption (NWEC) Joint Secretary Madhav Belbase along with the team of technical experts will visit different Indian inland waterways to study their infrastructure and learn how Nepal will benefit from them.

Following this, the Nepali team will meet and discuss the possibilities with the Indian team.

Inland Waterways Under Construction:
India has already begun working on building infrastructure to develop inland waterways from Kolkata to Varanasi via the River Ganga. The Indian Government and the World Bank together have invested over INR 54 billion for this part of the project.

The project encompasses the construction of multi-modal terminal stations in Varanasi, Sahibganj in Bihar and Haldia in Kolkata.

The terminal in Varanasi is due for completion in November 2018.

On completion, Nepali cargo from third-world countries can be transported from Kolkata to Varanasi and then be sent through rail and road links to Birgunj and Bhairahawa.

Officials say that this project is important and will pave way for imports and exports of big cargo including raw materials.

The Kalughat terminal near Patna is another feasible option. Currently under construction, the terminal will facilitate cargo imports up to the Narayani river.

A multi-modal terminal in Haldiya of Kolkata, which is underway, will enable transportation of 2.18 million ton every year. The project is due for completion in December 2019.

Alternative in Consideration
According to officials, the two neighboring countries are considering a few alternatives for the modality of waterways:

• India has proposed the shipment of cargo with the help of big vessels from Kolkata to Kalughat in Bihar from where they can be transported to the Nepali border on smaller ships
• Nepal can also transfer the goods through the 180-km Kalughat-Raxaul road link.
• India proposed the movement of goods on big vessels between Kolkata-Sahibganj waterway and later transfer them to small ships to the Nepal border
• Nepal can also import goods by road through the 150-km Sahibganj-Manihari-Birgunj corridor
• India has also proposed the transfer of goods through cross-border railway lines which are under-construction

The two countries Prime Minister Visits, the Trade-Treaty and more recently the BIMSTEC Summit have paved the way for many interesting projects between the two countries including railways, cargo tracking and waterways which stand as proof of both countries efforts for regional co-operation and individual development.

The post Nepal-India Waterways: Plans, Alternatives & Foresight appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

This move is coming exactly one month after the government released its Federal Budget for FY 2018-19.

The latest decision by Oli followed series of concerns raised by various leaders and lawmakers, who said the new budget is mandatory to execute many projects.

“The top leadership is of the view that other development programmes cannot be executed without a supplementary budget,” says a Nepal Communist Party (NCP) leader.

As the reports say, Finance Minister Khatiwada had to face an intense pressure of his party and opposition party leaders to announce new budget for execution of their programs.

“Traditionally, a finance minister does not announce supplementary budget overruling the budget that she/he had previously announced, except in an emergency situation,” adds the leader.

High-level discussions on the supplementary budget are going to happen after the BIMSTEC Summit scheduled to be held in Kathmandu during August 30-31, 2018 and post completion of the party’s unification process across local & provincial levels following a standing committee meeting on September 4-5, 2018.

Besides, NCP also plans to hold a standing committee meeting to track the status of federal governance in the country. “These meetings will also discuss the supplementary budget and ministers’ performances,” the leader added.

According to reports, the supplementary budget is likely to focus on national-pride projects and senior citizens welfare allowance.

The new budget is expected to be announced after Nepal Communist Party (NCP) Co-chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s separate bilateral visits to India and China during September 7-12 and September 17, 2018.

Also Read: 

• Nepal’s Maiden Federal Budget 2018-19
• Nepal Capex: Structural Concerns Haunt Budget Execution!
• Nepal Federal Budget FY 2018-19: A Mixed Reaction
• Nepal Federal Budget FY 2018-19: Infrastructure Gets Major Push!
• Nepal Federal Budget 2018-19: Highlights & Key Announcements

The post Federal Budget FY’19: ‘Supplementary Budget’ Likely appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

The Board of Executive Directors of #WBG on August 07, 2018 enacted a new five-year Country Partnership Framework (CPF) for Nepal with an aim to support the country in its path of development driven by federalism.

CPF for Nepal also includes WB’s commitment to offering needed support to all Nepali institutions that are key to successful implementation of federalism and fast-paced development of the country.

According to the Chief of the International Economic Cooperation Coordination Division of the Finance Ministry, Shri Krishna Nepal, WBG also promised enhancement of its financial support to the Himalayan nation significantly over the next five years period.

Nepal’s transition to federalism unlocks opportunities for all citizens to participate in its development. This represents a window of opportunity for the country to further reduce poverty, increase the income of the bottom 40 percent, and pursue its ambitious agenda of inclusive growth and accountable service delivery.
– Qimiao Fan, World Bank Country Director for Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal

What CPF Envisages for Nepal?
CPF noted that #NepalFederalAgenda comes as a boost to WBG’s programmes at the operational and policy levels, while also cautioning the nation with supposed societal challenges that can arise in the federalism implementation process.

“Transitional vulnerabilities could heighten in the early days of federalism as development roles are adjusted and the new structures take root,” notes CPF.

According to an official release, CPF’s key areas of focus for Nepal include:

• Strengthening public institutions for economic management, service delivery and public investment
• Promoting private sector-led jobs and growth
• Enhancing inclusion for the poor, vulnerable, and marginalized groups, with greater resilience against climate change, natural disasters, and other exogenous shocks 

The new partnership strategy with the World Bank Group is focused on supporting our transition to federalism, fits squarely within our vision and underpins a Nepali-owned model, says Yuba Raj Khatiwada, Nepal Finance Minister.

Khatiwada feels that this partnership strategy with the World Bank is in line with Nepal’s goal of giving every Nepali equal access to security, justice, good governance, basic services and an opportunity to participate in the developmental process.

Need of the Hour!
According to World Bank, Nepal will need significant financing beyond currently-available public and development aid resources in order to achieve fast-paced growth and fight poverty in its transition to federalism.

In this regard, CPF states that the government’s growth strategy pitching for higher investment and productivity and effective participation by public institutions will need carefully-calibrated policies to draw required private investment in parallel with the federal process.

We will expand our investments — both debt as well as equity — and advisory services for private investment in Nepal. Our efforts will encourage high-quality private investors to support the government’s strategy of inclusive development – Wendy Werner, International Finance Corporation’s Country Head for Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan.

Behind CPF
CPF priorities under its developmental agenda for Nepal were formed after a wide range of consultations with the federal, state and local governments.

The results also included recommendations and opinions of Nepal’s related stakeholders and development partners including private sector, civil society, academia, community groups and media.

This includes hearing from over 200,000 citizens across Nepal through SMS and online surveys. The framework aligns with the government’s development priorities and Nepal’s goal to graduate to middle income country status by 2030, said the World Bank in its official release.

WBG Support to Nepal
The World Bank Group has been actively supporting Nepal through its three main arms:

• International Development Association (IDA): Under this concessionary lending arm, WB is currently supporting 21 active Nepali projects at a USD 2.5 billion investment promised under IDA. Under IDA18, WB has indicative resources worth USD 300 million for Nepal for FY 2018-2020 through the IDA Risk Mitigation Regime.
• International Finance Corporation (IFC): This is WBG’s private sector arm in Nepal, which is committed to infuse about USD 800 million-USD 1.2 billion investment in Nepal over the coming five-year period.
• Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA): This is WBG’s investment risk insurance arm in Nepal, which is actively finding opportunities to pump in foreign private investment into Nepal. IFC and MIGA use IDA IFC/MIGA Private Sector Window (PSW) and the MIGA Guarantee Facility to underwrite eligible projects.

WBG’s first economic mission to Nepal arrived in 1963 to assess the country’s development prospects and challenges. Following this, the country received its first WB credit in 1969 for a telecommunications project.

Since then, the World Bank continued its support to Nepal and provided USD 4.75 billion in assistance (USD 3.48 billion in credits and USD 1.27 billion in grants), so far.

Hope the World Bank’s country-wise development strategy will offer more benefits to the development of Nepal in the years to come!

The post World Bank’s New Country Framework Focuses Nepal Federalism appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

In a recent move, the government announced plans to create a new ‘Basket Fund’ that would pool foreign donations and take ahead the same to local bodies as a conditional grant through federal administration.

The latest decision comes as solution to the long-standing concern over the distribution of foreign funds to the development projects across the provincial and local units of the country.

The new decision gains significance in view of the fact that Nepal Constitution allows foreign fund access only to provincial governments through Centre’s consent, with no such access to local bodies in any way.

According to the Finance Ministry officials, the donors are eager to help local and provincial bodies in their early stage of development under the federal set-up.

“We seek to give them a window to mobilize their resources for programmes implemented by provincial and local governments,” says Shree Krishna Nepal, Chief of the International Economic Cooperation Coordination Division, Ministry of Finance.

As the officials say, the federal government however requires more resources for financing infrastructure projects.

“We have demanded technical assistance less than 10 percent of overall assistance for the provincial or local levels,” says another official.

In line with the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration recommendations, the government discussed with donors on ways to create a single ‘basket fund’ that can be utilized in different priority areas in consultation between the two sides.

“A local unit will be responsible for implementing a project within its area of jurisdiction while schemes covering more than one local unit will be funded through the provincial government,” says Amrit La msal, Under-Secretary, Ministry of Federal Affairs. 

Besides, there exists confusion over the utilization of foreign funds that doesn’t fall under the budgetary system.

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