KATHMANDU: Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal urged entrepreneurs to support the industrialization of the nation. The government wants investment in industries and infrastructure projects from the private sector, he said addressing an international conference on ‘Enhancing Resource Effectiveness in the Work Place’ here today.

The government is making Nepal an investment-friendly country and seeks support in the drive from domestic and international investors, he said. “The budget 2009-10 has laid sufficient ground for investment in large infrastructure projects,” he said. Highlighting the potential of investment in hydropower sector, he said, “We have plans to generate 26,000 MW in the next 25 years and that need lots of resources.”

The PM urged the private sector to invest in low-cost housing sector. The government has taken it as a priority programme for the current fiscal year targeting poor people. “The government is ready to work in this sector,” he said. It has identified private sector, cooperatives and public sector as a three-pillar system, he said. “We want to develop cooperatives where public and private sectors are not strong,” he said, “Private sector does not need to suspect the government in this regard.”

“This conference is significant for enhancing the competitiveness of Nepali industries at the global level,” said Suraj Kumar Vaidhya, officiating president of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce (FNCCI). The two-day long conference is jointly organized by FNCCI and International Journal of Industrial Engineering.