Energy ministry opposes govt attempt to empower NIB

Protesting the government preparation to delegate more authority to the Nepal Investment Board (NIB) to enable it to handle mega projects independently, the Ministry of Energy (MoE) has written to the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers (OPMCM) to rethink the move.
The OPMCP in preparation to forward a proposal to the cabinet to empower the NIB has been collecting comments from different line ministries.
The OPMCM has received a letter from the MoE, which has clearly urged the government to rethink its move stating that NIB lacks necessary human resources and expertise to independently handle hydropower projects of above 500 megawatts.
"The letter from MoE explicitly asks us to do a rethink before submitting a proposal -- that will delegate more authority to the NIB to handle mega projects -- to the cabinet for approval," a high level official at the OPMCM said in condition of anonymity.
The OMPCM had sought comments from all the concerned ministries before submitting a proposal to delegate authority to the NIB to facilitate implementation of 14 select projects including five mega hydropower projects, namely, Tamakoshi III (600 MW), Upper karnali (900 MW), Upper Marshyangdi (600 MW), Arun III (900 MW) and West Seti (750 MW).
The source, however said, other ministries have not shown any strong reactions regarding the proposal to strengthen NIB. "However, the MoE has asked the OMPCM to rethink before taking any decision stating that it would weaken the government´s implementation capacity regarding mega projects if more authority is delegated to NIB, which is lacking in institutional capacity," the source further revealed.
Meanwhile, officials at the MoE said that handing over projects to the NIB would not be practical without boosting its its capacity and human resources. "NIB doesn´t have technical know-how, lacks in institutional capacity and required human resources, whereas the ministry has experience of 30 years in implementing hydropower projects besides a department, Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) and qaualified human resources under it," a high level official at the MoE told Republica.
"There should be tremendous improvement in NIB´s institutional set up and human resources capacity if it wants to capacitate itself to implement mega projects. It will be a mistake if the government decides to ignore the institutioanl capacity of the MoE and delegate more authority to a new-born institution," the official said.
NIB, set up under the Investment Board Act- 2011, has long been seeking more teeth to handle mega projects independently.
The government in May last year had handed over 14 mega projects such as Second International Airport in Nijghad, Kathmandu-Tarai Fast Track, Project to upgrade and manage Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), Waste Management Project, Fertilizer Company and the aforementioned five hydropower projects among others.
However, Tulsi Prasad Sitaula, secretary at the Ministry of Physical Planning, Works and Transport Management (MoPPWTM) said that the ministry has no objection if NIB finds investors for project development. "But NIB is not the implementing agency for the selected projects," Sitaula said.

Minister Jha off to India to discuss regional trade

A team of government officials and businessmen led by Ministry of Industry Anil Kumar Jha left for India on Friday to attend a program titled ´South Asia Economic Integration: On a New Path of Progress and Hope´.
Issuing a press statement, Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) said Minister Jha will address a special session of the program that will hold discussion on ways to unleash regional potentiality through cooperation. FNCCI President Suraj Vaidya is also scheduled to address the program organized by Confederation of Indian Industries (CII).
Additionally, business delegation of FNCCI will also hold a meeting with officials from Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FICCI) in New Delhi on January 31.
"The meeting between officials from FNCCI and FICCI will focus on bilateral trade, renewed Transit Treaty and developing infrastructure for energy trade," the statement said, adding that the FNCCI officials will also approach French, German and British investors in India to put their money in Nepal.
FNCCI Vice President Pashupati Murarka, energy expert Gyanendra Lal Pradhan, executive member of FNCCI Shekhar Golchha and President of Non-Resident Nepalese Association Jiba Lamichhane are also in the delegation.

Govt agencies join forces for cleaner Valley

Three government agencies have come together to make the Valley greener and cleaner after the road expansion drive leaves the roads wider and more open.
"The Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD), Kathamandu Metropolitan Office (KMO) and the Ministry of Forest and Soil Conversation (MoFSC) have come up jointly with plans to make the Valley more beautiful," said Krishna Hari Banskota, secretary at the Office of Prime Minister and Council of Ministers (OPMCM).
Secretary Banskota, who is also coordinator of the road expansion program, said that the three different agencies concerned, namely MoUD, KMO and MoFSC, have come up with different plans for a building code for the front part of roadside buildings, 24-hour cleaning service in the Valley, and planting of trees on the roadside and in open spaces.
"The joint initiative of the three line agencies will make the Valley greener and cleaner," Banskota said.
However, the agencies are still working on how they can jointly carry out the task of making the Valley more beautiful and add a flavor of greenery to the roads that are now wider, according to Banskota.
"We will soon come up with proper plans and implement them," Banskota said, citing high-level officials from agencies such as MoUD and KMO, after inspecting the road expansion work on Saturday.
According to Banskota, Valley denizens whose houses are on the roadside should comply with the building code that the government or the local body -- KMO -- develops.
A team of officials including Tulasi Prasad Sitaula, secretary at the Ministry of Physical Planning, Works and Transport Management (MoPPWTM), Kishore Thapa, secretary at MoUD, and Kedar Bahadur Adhikari, executive officer at KMO, among others, had inspected the progress made so far under Banskota´s leadership.
According to Banskota, various road sections, such as Dillibazar-Bhatbhateni-Bhairavnathgan (3.3 km), Kamalpokhari-Maitidevi (1 km) and Gairidhara-Baluwatar (1 km), have been blacktopped.
Similarly, the Chabahil Chowk (150 meters), Anamnagar-Kalikasthan (700 meters), Naniganj-Gairidhara (300 meters), Gairidhara-Chhateganesh (280 meters), Gairidhara-Police Headquarters (300 meters), Maitidevi-Setopul Sadak (320 meters), Bhatkekopul-Chabahil Ganeshsthan (500 meters) and Bhatbhateni-Bishalnagar (700 meters) road sections have already been blacktopped.
Meanwhile, Secretary Banskota has asked all the agencies concerned, including Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani Limited (KUKL) and Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), to speed up the task of replacing water pipes, electricity poles and transformers. "The road expansion should be completed as soon as possible," Banskota said.
Furthermore, Banskota said that the Department for International Development (DfID) of the UK is ready to demolish its compound wall to support road expansion in Lalitpur.

MoI outsources task of conducting audits of 30 firms

The government has outsourced the job of conducting due-diligence audits of around 30 firms waiting to be declared as ´sick industries´.
The Ministry of Industry (MoI) outsourced the task to four chartered accountants as it lacked expertise on evaluating financial status of those firms.
"Four chartered accountants from the Association of Chartered Accountants of Nepal (ACAN) are currently trying to identify the actual financial status of the firms that are waiting to be tagged as sick industries," Bishnu Dhakal, under secretary at the MoI, told Republca.
The MoI outsourced the job as a technical committee, formed to identify sick industries and recommend facilities for them, required complete financial details of those firms.
The technical committee, which has the ultimate authority to identify and recommend facilities for sick industries, is now working with the team of chartered accountants to chart out financial support required by the firms.
More than 30 firms filed applications at the MoI to get status of sick industries almost a year ago.
"The chartered accountants will conduct audits of those firms and prescribe financial support they require from the government for recovery." Dhakal said. "Additionally, they will also carry out study on what pushed them to the verge of collapse."
Earlier, the Council of Ministers had approved the terms of reference of the technical committee, providing it more teeth to finalize the task of identifying actual sick industries.
"The ministry will prepare a list of sick industries and support they need to rebuild themselves after carefully analyzing their financial status," Dhakal said.
The government had earlier announced to provide relief package to sick industries through its Immediate Relief Program 2011/12.
The MoI was assigned to identify actual number of sick industries after the Sick Industries Rehabilitation High Level Task Force prepared a report with recommendations to revive sick industries in 2011.