The project, which is under construction, was scheduled to dole out 76 MW of electricity from the first unit on Monday. The other units will become operational after the first unit goes live.

Managing Director of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) Hitendra Dev Shakya and PM’s Development Expert Gajendra Thapaliya surveyed the construction of the power plant on Sunday and approved the power generation plan for Monday.

The officials oversaw the equipment test at the power plant and at the Khimti substation. The substation is also under construction in Ramechap. “We have brought the project, which has been facing various problems, to the point of generating electricity through continuous efforts. All the tests have reached the final stage. We will start power generation from the first unit by switching on Monday morning without any technical problems,” said Hitendra Dev Shakya.

All the other tests pertaining to the power plant’s integrity have been completed successful. The electricity which will be generated from this plant will be transferred to the national grid via Gongar-Khimti-Dhalkebar 220 kV transmission line. The transmission line construction is complete, and the same is being tested.

“As it will take a few days to test the substation, alternative arrangements will be made to connect the project’s electricity to the New Khimti substation and connect it directly to the Dhalkebar substation,” Shakya said. “We have made the necessary arrangements for this.”

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The grant agreement signed by Nepal and USA is a part of the Compact Program designed by Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) – an independent foreign aid agency of the US Government.

It was originally signed by then Nepal Finance Minister Gyanendra Bahadur Karki and MCC CEO Jonathan Nash in Washington DC on September 14, 2017.

The grant will be used to build energy and transport network in Nepal, helping the country draw more foreign and domestic investment.

The grant has to be approved by the Federal Parliament before being implemented.

As per the agreement, MCC will provide Nepal with USD 459.5 million as program funding and USD 40.5 million as compact CDF. The US grant will support two projects in Nepal:

• The Electricity Transmission Project
• Road Maintenance Project

Electricity and road infrastructure are the two main obstacles in the path of Nepal’s development.

Besides, the fund can also be used for financial management and procurement activities; administrative support expenses, such as rent and several other areas that go into implementing the agreement in accordance with MCC.

The MCC board of directors chose Nepal for the compact program because of the country’s efforts to establish rule of law and democratic institutions. Nepal’s strong performance on all MCC policy criteria was another factor why MCC chose the Himalayan nation for this special program.

The Nepal Government will also be investing USD 130 million for the specialized program.

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The report puts Nepal at the 158^th position out of 190 countries.

 
This indicates the lowest ranking based on the 10 indicators including:

Reasons for Low Ranking
According to World Bank’s annual ranking, Nepal’s ‘2017 Labor Act’ made tax paying difficult. The introduction of labor gratuity, medical insurance and accident insurance through this act, puts a considerable burden on companies having a complex administration.

The biggest burden, labor gratuity mandates that employers must file and pay it manually on a ‘monthly’ basis. This in turn has a major impact on tax payments and time taken to comply with tax obligations.

Photo Credit: NepaliIndata

In 2017, business entities in Nepal paid close to 39 payments and spent 353 hours to comply with tax obligations. On a global average, companies spend 24 payments and 237 hours in tax compliance.

“Raising revenues for spending on social expenses is needed and possible. It will be critical to find ways for not overly burdening companies with paperwork, taking time and resources away from generating profits to employ workers and spread prosperity,” said Faris Hadad-Zervos, Country Manager, World Bank, Nepal.

The Solution
Coming up with a solution, Nepal’s tax authorities are considering an e-filing platform that will make compliance easier for businesses.

On the other hand, the Government is considering the merger of taxes and contributions that are levied on the common tax base.

It has also approached World Bank for assistance in simplifying business process in the coming period.

“We view this as a very positive step forward and stand ready to support these critical reforms as part of Government new vision of Crowding in the Private Sector,” Zervos added.

Overall, Nepal’s reduced the number of business reforms to 19 in 2017 compared with previous year’s revised record of 21 reforms.

US Ranking in WB’s ‘Best Places to do Business’
Similarly, US dropped two spots in the World Bank’s annual ranking of the ‘Best Places to Do Business in the World’.

According to the Wall Street Journal, America fell to the ‘eight’ place based on following indicators :

Meanwhile, New Zealand, Singapore and Denmark continued to maintain their ‘top three’ ranking for the third year in a row.

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