IBN plans fresh DPR for metro railway service
KATHMANDU:
The Investment Board of Nepal (IBN) has decided to call for a fresh bid to carry out detailed project report (DPR) for the long planned development of metro railway service in the Capital.
In this regard, it has cancelled all previous preparations and is planning to hire a new consultant through open competition.
The recent board meeting of IBN, which is entrusted to carry out 14 mega projects including Kathmandu Metro, took a decision to conduct a DPR and go for transparent bidding procedure. Two years ago, the government had decided to hand over the DPR work to a consortium of South Korean firms and a Nepali company — Nepal Metro.
However, the long study could not move ahead after the consortium asked it be allowed to conduct the DPR as well as construct the project. The government had a plan to first prepare DPR from the consortium and go for global tender to select a contractor for the development of Kathmandu metro. “The board took a decision to carry out fresh DPR and adopt transparent bidding mechanism,” said Radesh Pant, CEO of IBN.
According to Pant, the competitive bidding will also give chance to explore new products and technology of metro and select one that best suits the country. He said that Nepal Metro did not conduct DPR despite many calls, as it sought involvement in project development also after concluding the DPR.
A feasibility study carried out in 2012 had concluded that developing 77-km long Kathmandu Metro was possible with investment of Rs 330 billion ($3.88 billion).
Nepal Metro said that they had requested the government to give both tasks as they were financially and technically capable of partnering with Korean firms. It had also said it would be able to build the project at $3 billion and reimburse cost of feasibility study. As per the plan of the government, Kathmandu Metro project will be built under build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) modality of public private partnership.
The feasibility report prepared by a consortium of three South Korean firms (Chungsuk Engineering Company, Korea Transport Institution, Kunhwa Consulting and Engineering Company, Korea Rail Network Authority) and two Nepali firms (Research Management Consultant Environmental and Building Design Authority) had stated that five metro service lines — four lines within the Ring Road and one 27.35-km line around it — could be constructed within 10 years.
Maharajgunj-Satdobato and Kalanki-Airport lines, among the total five lines, are considered most viable for the operation of an elevated railway service.
Source: THT
