April 7: The number of projects to be presented to attract investment in the Third Investment Summit to be held on April 29 and 29 has been reduced.

The government has prepared a list of 132 projects received so far from the private sector, local level and federal ministries, departments, and industrial sector to present at the summit.

Joint Secretary and Spokesperson for the Investment Board, Pradyumna Prasad Upadhyay informed that up to 125 projects will be exhibited. The board has now made a list of projects in various stages.

A meeting attended by Chief Secretary Dr Baikuntha Aryal and other officials on Saturday fixed the final date for submitting the projects. According to Upadhyaya, who also attended the meeting, the relevant ministries must submit the final list of proposed projects by upcoming Sunday.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal is scheduled to make a public address from the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers next Tuesday and the board is preparing to finalize the list of projects to be displayed during the summit ahead of the PM’s speech.

On that day, the prime minister is scheduled to hold discussions with the resident ambassadors of diplomatic missions in Nepal as well as the representatives of the World Bank, the United Nations (UN) and other development partner organizations. The prime minister will inform them about the investment summit and request investors from related countries to invest through them.

The chief secretary has instructed all the ministries to submit the final details of the projects to the Investment Board by Sunday evening.

Although there are many projects to be displayed at the summit, only 27 of them will seek Expression of Interest (IOE). Similarly, there are four projects that investors can directly enter into investment agreements with.

According to the board, there are 26 projects that will seek financing.

Likewise, most of the projects are in the ideation stage. The board has listed 37 projects under this title. Similarly, there are seven projects of the private sector. Stalls will also be made available for the private sector. Private sector investors can directly present their projects at the summit.

Investment Board Nepal, Ministry of Industry, Ministry of Energy, Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Ministry of Physical Infrastructure along with the Industrial Zones, Special Economic Zones, Department of Mining and other agencies have prepared a list of various projects. It includes projects ranging from highways, tunnels, hydropower, tourism, and cable cars.