KATHMANDU: Economic Digest, a daily morning email digest, is basically a relatable summation of important business news from Nepal into easy-to-understand summaries.
Gautam Buddha Airport unlikely to start operations by March
The Gautam Buddha International Airport has ye to install equipment necessary for the operation of the airport. It has acquired 85.5% physical progress under international competitive bidding (ICB)-01 and approximately 50% progress rate for ICB-02, the communication, navigation and surveillance/air traffic management (CNS/ATM), and meteorological equipment necessary for the operation of the airport are yet to be installed.
Prabesh Adhikari, the project chief of GBIA said that the work of phase II has already started and the foundation for installation of equipment is being prepared.
The outbreak of coronavirus in China will have an impact on the arrival of the technical team needed to install the necessary equipment. “If the suspension of flights to and from China continues for a long time, the team we are expecting for some ICB-02 works will arrive late,” said Adhikari.
Government to monitor market to tame chicken prices
As the prices of chicken increased to Rs. 410 per kg, the department of commerce, supplies and consumer protection has announced that they will be monitoring the chicken market to control the price hike.
The department is planning to monitor the market and punish those who might be involved in increasing the price of chicken.
Tree-houses become a new tourism trend in Province 1
After construction of beautifully designed treehouses, which is drawing crowds in greater numbers by the day, an unknown corner of a known city, 1-Bigha-area, is now becoming a new traveling hotspot of Dharan.
”People are thronging our resort because of the tree houses that we built for the first time not only in our city but also in east Nepal”, said Gyandip Limbu, the owner of the resort.
Constructed at an estimated budget of 5 million rupees, Dharan’s pioneering tree houses brought tourists even before its formal inaugural.
Gandaki Province to establish 11 industrial villages
Gandaki Province has decided to establish 11 industrial villages in the current fiscal year 2019/2020. The industrial villages will focus on using locally available raw materials and process them to produce products for both domestic and international markets.
The provincial government plans to promote locally available maize, paddy, wheat, buckwheat, millet, milk, tea, coffee, fruits and vegetables.
Aviation Policy-2076 bans imports of over 15-year-old aircraft
The Nepal Government has prepared a preliminary draft of Aviation Policy, 2076 with the aim of banning the procurement of aircraft that are more than 15 years old.
The Aviation Policy, 2063 had allowed the import of aircraft up to 20 years old. The number of years has been reduced in the current draft. The newly drafted policy laid down a provision that bans 15-years-old aircraft or that has completed 50 percent of economic design life.
The previous policy had allowed the import of aircraft older than 15 years or that had completed 75 percent of economic design life.
11 National Pride Projects’ perform below standard
The Technical Audit Report of National Vigilance Center (NVC) found the performance of 11 national pride projects poor and below the standard. NVC sources claimed that the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has been working on investigating those projects based on the NVC report.
NVC had prepared the technical audit report of Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower Project Dolakha, Melamchi Drinking Water Project Sindhupalchowk, Bhojpur-Diktel Sector of Mid-Hills Pushpalal Highway, Rani Jamariya Kularia Irrigation Project (main canal and feeder hydro canal) Kailali along with some other projects.
73 bridges constructed so far along the mid-hill highway
The government has so far constructed 73 bridges along the mid-hill highway. The mid-hill highway connects Chiyobhanjyang of Panchthar district to Jhulaghat of Baitadi district.
Along the highway, a total of 126 bridges need to be built. It connects 215 settlements of 26 districts in the mid-hill of the country, while some 10 million people would be directly benefitted with the mega project.
The government had prioritized the mid-hill highway as the national pride project since 2069/70BS. The timeframe for the completion of this pride project is set till 2078/79BS.
However, some 1,000 km of roadway was operative before the launch of the project. The new track is opened and the old ones being upgraded under the mid-hill highway.
Dharahara to be completed within nine months
The construction of Dharahara, a heritage of archaeological importance, is completing within nine months. With this, people’s desire to view Dharahara and to have a glimpse of the panoramic view of the capital city Kathmandu from the 22-story view tower is getting fulfilled soon.
“The construction of Dharahara is in full swing and it is going to be completed within the next nine months,” said National Reconstruction Authority (NRA).
(Compiled and prepared by Swastik Aryal, Akash Shrestha, Nitish Lal Shrestha, Diana Zulkifli)
Nepal Economic Digest is a daily morning email digest, basically relatable summations of the most important business news, happenings from Nepal into easy-to-understand summaries. The Institute for Strategic and Socio-Economic Research (ISSR), Nepal’s independent think tank, and Khabarhub — Nepal popular news portal — have joined hands to disseminate news from Nepal in the form of Economic Digest.
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