50pc NPPs show 'good' progress

KATHMANDU:

Mid-Hill Highway is the only one national pride project (NPP) that has witnessed 100 per cent physical progress in the last fiscal year. Close on its heels, four projects — Sikta, Babai, Ranijamara-Kulariya irrigation projects and Lumbini Development Trust — have reported over 90 per cent progress.

The government has listed 21 projects having huge importance in development as national priority projects. Today, National Plan Commission (NPC), during the 33th meeting of National Development Problem Solution Committee, said seven kilometre track opening, 35 km gravelling and 12 km blacktopping have been completed among others, accounting for 100 per cent physical progress of Mid-Hill Highway.

The government had also completed track opening of Mid-Hill Highway that connects 24 mid-hill districts last year. Compared to other projects, Sikta, Babai and Ranijamara-Kulariya irrigation projects have also witnessed good progress, with 99.8 per cent, 99.5 per cent and 92.6 per cent, respectively. In terms of spending too, irrigation projects have shown good record.

Sikta has spent 99.7 per cent of the budget allocated to it in the last fiscal year. Similarly, Babai and Ranijamara-Kulariya spent 92.2 per cent and 85.7 per cent of their total budget, respectively. However, projects like Second International Airport, West Seti Hydropower and East-West Electric Railway have not disclosed their progress report, according to the NPC.

In the national pride road projects, there was progress of 62.7 per cent on Kathmandu-Tarai Fast Track, 82.5 per cent on Postal Road, including bridge works, and 82.7 per cent progress on the three North-South Corridor roads (Koshi, Karnali and Gandaki).

Devendra Karki, director general of the Department of Roads said that the overall progress of road sector was comparatively good in the last fiscal year.

“The result would have been much better if there had been no shortage of sand and crushed stones during the final quarter of the last fiscal year,” said Karki. Normally, a project that makes a progress of above 80 per cent is considered good and those having progress below 50 per cent are listed as poor performers.

In the last fiscal, the government had allocated over Rs 20 billion for NPPs. Amid many projects still facing problems to acquire land, today’s meeting of the committee also discussed on previous directions issued to amend land acquisition law to make the land acquisition process easy. NPC officials said that 14 ministers in the meeting reported of having 61 different problems related to project implementations and many were related to land acquisition.

Source: THT