MoI starts consultation with pvt sector to reopen PEs

KATHMANDU, NOV 20: 

Ministry of Industry (MoI) has started consultation with private sector to seek possibilities of operating closed Public Enterprises (PEs).

Following the cabinet decision to reopen three Public Enterprises — Birgunj Sugar Mill, Agriculture Tool Factory and Butwal Dhago Udhyog — in the 

beginning of October, the Ministry of Industry has started is seeking suitable modality of operating those Public Enterprises, said spokesperson at the ministry Yam Kumari Khatiwada.

Those three public entities were closed due to regular political bickering and 

financial mismanagement apart from their inefficiency in competing with imported products.

However, the Office of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers had also brought an Immediate Action Plan to Reform Governance and Economic Sector targeting reviving some closed public entities last month. 

The government had asked the Ministry of Industry to bring private sector or seek other options to reopen those closed public entities.

The action plan had mandated the ministry to complete the operation process of most of the Public Enterprises within a year, Khatiwada said, adding that it is a very tough process to select appropriate private party to operate the closed Public Enterprises.

The ministry will also study utilisation of land and other infrastructure of Janakpur Cigarette Factory. 

The Public Enterprises Directorate Board will recommend a suitable option of utilising land and infrastructure of the cigarette factory, she told The Himalayan Times. 

“The ministry is formulating its own separate action plan to implement the plan endorsed by the Office of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers.”

The ministry will form a taskforce before completing action plan.

The taskforce will be responsible to study practical aspects of reopening Public Enterprises and submit a report to the ministry soon.

The taskforce will also be responsible to provide modality of managing employees of closed Public Enterprises and chances of utilising infrastructure.

The ministry will also fix recommend tentative base rate to lease the Public Enterprises before leasing them to private sector, she informed.

It is likely that the ministry will ask private sector to submit their operation plan of the closed Public Enterprises and grant them the opportunity based on their proposals. “The consultation meetings will select most convincing proposal,” Khatiwada added.

Source: THT