October 4: Chief Executive Officer of Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), Alice Albright has said she is confident and optimistic for the timely completion of the MCC project.    
Speaking at a press conference organized in the capital on Tuesday, visiting CEO Albright mentioned that she found the Government of Nepal and other stakeholders effortful and dedicated for its implementation as the project has to be completed within five years since its commencement.      
"MCA Nepal is responsible for implementing MCC. This is a structure under the Nepal government," she added.    
CEO Albright shared that projects under MCC have been executed in different parts of the world and stressed the need of cooperation from all sides to overcome challenges in course of its implementation.    
Sharing that the high-level meetings and discussions during her Nepal visit were fruitful, she said matters related to the successful implementation of the project were discussed on the occasion.    
During her stay, CEO Albright-led delegation had called on Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, former Prime Minister and Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba, former Prime Minister and CPN-UML Chairperson KP Sharma Oli, Minister for Foreign Affairs NP Saud, Minister for Finance Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat, Minister for Energy, Water Resource and Irrigation Shakti Bahadur Basnet and Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Prakash Jwala among others.    
Noting that the MCC has already entered into implementation phase, Albright expressed her confidence that the project would be completed in the designated period.    
The MCC CEO further mentioned they had agreed and accepted the interpretive declaration attached to MCC while endorsing the MCC-related proposal by the parliament.    
She further said MCC was a crucial part of the US foreign grants assistance and its execution would further deepen the Nepal-US relations.    
CEO Albright expressed her hope that the project would help develop reliable electricity service and road network as well as open up new avenues for electricity export through the construction of transmission lines.    
She went on saying that the projects under such grants would contribute to the economic growth of Nepal.    
Also on the occasion, US Ambassador Dean Thompson and MCA Nepal's Executive Director Khadga Bahadur Bisht also responded to the queries of journalists on the project affairs.    
The MCC compact has already entered into execution phase since August 30. The MCC compact was signed between the Government of Nepal and MCC under the US government on September 14, 2017.    
After a long debate, the parliament had endorsed the compact last year.    
There is a provision in the compact that the power transmission lines and roads construction project should be completed within five years since the commencement of the project. -- RSS