Kathmandu, September 5

The board meeting of Nepal Purwadhar Bikash Co Ltd (NPBCL) has elected Bhaban Bhatta as the chairperson of the company on Tuesday.

The meeting also decided to hold the annual general meeting of its stakeholders in January, as per a press statement.

NPBCL had signed a joint development agreement (JDA) with Chinese company PowerChina to invest, develop, finance, construct and operate Kathmandu-Kulekhani-Hetauda Tunnel (KKHT) Highway Project on July 25. PowerChina has agreed to invest up to 95 per cent of the project cost and has also taken the responsibility of arranging bank financing through international financing agency for a debt equity ratio of 75:25, the statement says.

Following the review of the detailed engineering design of the project and a number of project site visits, PowerChina has also submitted its technical proposal on January 13. The project is now more geological friendly by introducing a bridge tunnel ratio of 44 per cent.

NPBCL statement says this technology could be a turning point in Nepali road construction practices in hilly areas of the country.

KKHT is the first public-private partnership project in infrastructure led by private sector.

All the related documents have been submitted to the federal government, Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport and provincial government of Province 3 for their assistance and attention.

NPBCL had signed an engineering procurement construction contract with PowerChina in May, 2017 during the Belt and Road Initiative Summit in Beijing.