Govt policies and programs indirectly include MCC project

KATHMANDU: The Nepal government has included the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) project in its policies and programs unveiled on Friday.

The clause 211 of the government’s policies and programs has included the project without mentioning the term ‘MCC’.

Unveiling the government’s policies and programs yesterday, President Bidya Bhandari said the government will build a 400KV transmission line along Lapsiphedi-Ratmate-Hetauda and Lapsiphedi-Ratmate-Damauli-Butwal in the Fiscal Year 2020/21.

This project falls within the plan outlined by the MCC Nepal. It appears that the government is indirectly planning to take the project forward by allocating the budget in the upcoming fiscal budget.

Meanwhile, the detailed design work for the project has been completed while the preparations are being made to call for tender, according to government sources.

Similarly, the process for the land requisition has been taken forward. The land acquisition at Ratmate in Nuwakot district has been completed for building a sub-station.

Nepal is bearing all the expenses including fee for the consultants and office rent. MCC has stopped funding since the last eight months.

MCC is always ready to issue the budget but it has been unable to do so due to the lack of endorsement by the parliament.

The Nepal government has spent around US $600,000 in the period of eight months since the MCC stopped funding to it.

Through the Electricity Transmission Project, MCA-Nepal will build approximately 300 kilometers of 400 KV transmission lines through the center of Nepal and three new substations.

The MCC’s Nepal Compact is mainly designed to strengthening Nepal’s energy sector, improve regional energy connectivity, and control transportation costs to encourage growth and private investment.

Aimed at spurring economic growth and reducing poverty in Nepal, the United States of America and Nepal had signed a $500 million compact on September 14, 2017.