Kathmandu, February 20

The second edition of the Nepal Infrastructure Summit concluded in Capital, today, with commitments made for socio-economic change in the country by focusing on large scale investments in quality infrastructure.

The two-day event, which was organised by the Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI), hosted policy makers, private sector representatives, potential foreign investors and bureaucrats who collectively pledged to put their efforts together to develop Nepal’s infrastructure. While the government pledged to introduce investment friendly policies and promote businesses, the private sector focused on the urgent need of a partnership between the government and private sector to draw investments and take Nepal’s infrastructure sector to a newer height.

Speaking at a business session during the event, former finance minister Ram Sharan Mahat said that Public-Private Partnership (PPP) has emerged as a new format of quicker development and Nepal should adopt this development modality at the earliest. “Nepal has a huge infrastructure deficit and it lacks sufficient budget to fulfil this gap. In such a context, there is no other option than to invite the private sector as an investment partner,” he said.

According to Mahat, Nepal should develop quality infrastructure to remain competitive in the global market and private sector’s involvement in infrastructural development ensures efficiency as well as quality.

However, Mahat said the government should frame clear provisions regarding PPP modality to ensure its effective implementation. As PPP is a contractual arrangement, he insisted on the clarity of different obligations, including liability obligation between the government and developers. “Unclear policies and contracts will lead to different implementation challenges of PPP,” he opined.

Meanwhile, Mahat also said BOOT (Build Own Operate and Transfer) modality is also a successful development modality which should be encouraged in a country like Nepal.

Providing his comments on financing mega infrastructure projects, Mahat said that a separate Infrastructure Development Bank has to be established as soon as possible and existing banks and financial institutions have to be strengthened as commercial banks encourage short-term lending while mega infrastructure projects demand long-term lending.

Similarly, Shankar Prasad Sharma, former vice chairman of National Planning Commission, said that the private sector should be encouraged in development activities as their involvement provides management expertise to development projects, reduces corruption and waste, and promotes innovations.

Similarly, Sharma said that PPP modality also ensures adequate budget for infrastructure projects, which public sector lacks. “On an average, we need to invest almost 10 per cent of value of gross domestic product (GDP) annually in infrastructure sector for its enhancement. However, we have been investing below three per cent of value of GDP in infrastructure, which is inadequate.”