Delays dogging Nepal-China fuel pact

NOC technical team to leave for China today

KATHMANDU, Nov 23: Though Petro China Company Limited (PCCL) last Monday formally called officials of Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) to come and sign a commercial agreement, the Nepali side is yet undecided about when the visit to China will take place.

Though a Nepali delegation was supposed to leave for China on Thursday for the signing, the government has been postponing the visit.

Minister for Commerce and Supplies Ganesh Man Pun had said at a press conference on Thursday that the team would leave for China on Friday and sign the pact. However, as of Sunday, the government remained undecided about the visit timing.

The Ministry of Commerce and Supplies (MoCS) last week formed a seven-member team led by Joint Secretary Shambhu Ghimire to visit China for signing the commercial deal. The team includes technical members from related government bodies, including NOC.

"Ministry officials and NOC, which are responsible for expediting the agreement process, have been delaying matters," a source at MoCS told Republica, adding,

According to the source, NOC and PCCL have not finalized issues related to rates for the petroleum products to be supplied to Nepal and customs duty. Earlier, Commerce Minister Pun had urged the Chinese side not to impose customs. "China has called for the signing of the agreement but NOC and MoCS have not done enough homework regarding the terms and conditions," the source added.

MoCS on Sunday decided to send NOC officials to China for further discussions on the terms and conditions. A two-member NOC team comprising officiating deputy managing director Sushil Bhattarai and director Deepak Baral are leaving for China on Monday.

Speaking to Republica, Bhattarai said, "We will visit China on Monday and finalize the norms of the fuel trade with PCCL and the Chinese government." According to Bhattarai, this technical team will first finalize all technical issues related to customs, petroleum delivery, rates and volume of petroleum products to be supplied to Nepal.

"Once we finalize all the technicalities, the team formed earlier will go to China for the final commercial agreement," Bhattarai added.

Breaking a four-decade monopoly of Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Nepal on October 29 signed a framework agreement with China for the supply of petroleum products. However, the inefficient workings of the government bodies concerned have been delaying the whole process.