With its focus on 8% economic growth by the end of the FY 2018-19, Nepal is scrutinizing its focus on key economy influencers such as the railways.<\/p>\n
Now that Nepal has the support of its neighboring countries, it is gearing up for its upcoming railway projects. The department is currently assessing its needs and addressing any issues that need immediate attention to meet one of its major goals of building a strong rail network internally and externally.<\/p>\n
“We are assessing the needs and preparing a plan accordingly,” says Nepal Railway Department, Senior Engineer, Prakash Upadhyaya.<\/p>\n
According to Upadhyaya, the department will shortly approach the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, a crucial agency that is responsible for the progress of major infrastructure<\/a> projects.<\/p>\n However, there are some issues that present obstacles in the department\u2019s course of action.<\/p>\n Obstacles to the project:<\/strong><\/p>\n The department officials opined that budget allocation will not impact their work provided that a pre-feasibility study of cross-border railway lines is financially supported by the supporting neighboring countries.<\/p>\n Despite the challenges, Nepal\u2019s railway department is undeterred and is keen on garnering support from its neighboring countries to commence the projects.<\/p>\n Talking about the situation, Upadhyaya says, “We may lack the resources, but we do have Nepali people who have been trained in railway engineering in countries like China and South Korea. We should be working towards attracting such individuals to work for us.”<\/p>\n\n