LALITPUR: The High Level Empowered Garbage Management Commission today held a meeting with private firms at Ministry of Local Development (MoLD) to discuss the modality of the garbage-fuelled plants and their interest. Twenty-five companies attended the meeting.

Krishna Gyawali, MoLD secretary and a commissioner, said the meeting deliberated on the expectation of the private sector and problems during the establishment of such a plant. "The government will provide land for the plant," he said. "The firms should submit applications within a month and selected ones will be presented at the Cabinet for the final decision."

The private sector has asked the government to promulgate related law, guarantee the investment, exempt taxes on imported equipment and to purchase the product.

Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industries, Chaudhary Group, Triveni Group, Panchkanya Group, KD Organisation, Eco-Tech Nepal, Thermal Waste Transformation Pvt Ltd, Action Nepal, Bhushal Energy Pvt Ltd and MS Group attended the meeting.

The government plans to clinch a deal with the private sector by mid-December to set up a refuse-fuelled plant within two years. The commission is inviting Expression of Interest from the firms immediately after Tihar.