December 28:  In the first six months of the current fiscal year, the expenditure of major national pride projects has been less than one percent suggesting sluggish progress. Many other projects have failed to make progress even on the modality of construction.

According to the Financial Comptroller General’s Office, the much-hyped Budhigandaki project received a budget of Rs 7.44 billion in the current fiscal year but has spent Rs 136.9 million only till date. Alhough the government is planning to build the project on its own, no concrete decision has been taken in this regard. 

The Detailed Project Report (DPR) of the project was prepared by the French company Trackwell in 2015/16. It had estimated the cost of the project to be around Rs 259 billion, which has now increased to US$ 2.5 billion. The cost is increasing due to the delay in project construction.

The government has been collecting tax on petroleum products at the rate of Rs 5 per liter for the construction of the project. According to the Nepal Oil Corporation, Rs 69.94 billion has been collected so far in the last six years. 

Similarly, the progress of Kathmandu-Terai Fast Track is also poor. The government had allocated   budget of Rss 8.81 billion this year, of which 253 million has been spent. The project inaugurated by the then PM Pushpa Kamal Dahal was expected to be completed in four years but it has not made any significant progress. The Nepalese Army, which had opened the fast track in 2012 has been awarded the contract of the project.

The Nepalese Army has completed 16 percent of the work in the last four years. Two Chinese companies have won contracts this year for the construction of tunnels and bridges along 72.5 km of roads, which is estimated to cost Rs 175 billion. There will be 71 bridges including 16 major bridges and other 87 smaller bridges. The army aims to complete the construction of the 11 km tunnel and bridge in the next three and a half years. The deadline of the project has been extended till 2024 and it has so far spent only Rs 25 billion.

Expenditure of the Millennium Challenge Account Nepal, which includes national pride projects, also shows poor performance during the review period of the current Fiscal Year. According to the Financial Comptroller General’s Office, the project, which received a budget of Rs 8.5 billion in the current fiscal year, has spent only 0.22% of it. Delay in the ratification of the project has pushed it into uncertainty.

Likewise, the Bheri Babai Diversion Project, Babai Irrigation Project, Melamchi Water Supply Project and Sikta Irrigation Project have made development expenditures of four, five, six and seven percent  respectively. 

Projects like Ranijamara, Mahakali Irrigation Project, Nijgadh and Pokhara Regional International Airports, Mid-Hills and North-South highways also have not made any significant progress in terms of capital expenditure. 

Experts says though there is no high risks of COVID-19 like in the previous years, the poor performance of these projects show the government itself is not concerned about moving the projects forward. According to Surya Raj Acharya, infrastructure expert, the government is not interested in addressing the problems these projects are facing. "The state selects the projects recklessly and displays no interest in the development of those projects," he said.