Despite various shortcomings, the year 2018 created hope in some areas. Some initiatives taken by the government, some achievements attained in various sectors such as tourism, sports, infrastructure development and connectivity with other countries have spread some message of optimism in the public. Here are some examples:

1 Stable government in place

Ending years of political instability, the country is believed to have embarked on the path of stable government from 2018 as the Nepal Communist Party (NCP) won two-thirds seats in parliament and formed a government led by KP Oli in February. Oli and former Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who played key role to merge two major communist parties — CPN-UML and CPN (Maoist Center) — to form the NCP in May became co-chairs of the unified party. The unified party has formed majority governments in six of the seven provinces and also heads most of the 753 local units. Presence of a strong government in the center, provinces and local level is expected to expedite economic and development projects as per the prime minister’s slogan “Prosperous Nepal, Happy Nepali”. 

2 Social Security Scheme launched

The government launched a social security scheme for employees working in registered firms and organizations. The scheme dubbed as ‘milestone’ for employees extends social protections on a contributory basis. As per the scheme, each employee will contribute 11 percent of his/her monthly salary in a fund while the employer will have to make a counterpart payment into the fund equivalent to 20 percent. Employees contributing into the fund will be entitled to various social security benefits. 

3 Nepal-Malaysia MoU on migrant workers

The government finally signed an MoU with the Malaysian government in October, paving the way for Nepali workers to go to Malaysia with the travel expenses covered by the employers concerned. The MoU was signed as Malaysia-bound Nepali workers were compelled to pay over Rs 100,000 despite a government-announced “free-visa free-ticket” system already in place. 

4 Energy Agreement with Bangladesh

In August, Nepal  and Bangladesh reached an agreement to export electricity produced  in Nepal. Since several hydropower projects are under construction in  Nepal, it can export surplus electricity to neighboring countries as per the agreement signed with Bangladesh.

5 Monorail deal 

In December, the Kathmandu Metropolitan City signed an agreement with China Railway’s Bureau Group for preparing the  Detailed Project Report of monorail to be built along the 27.5-kilometer  Ring Road. The feasibility study of monorail in Kathmandu  was first conducted in 2012 but there was no progress in the absence of elected peoples’ representatives. Kathmandu mayor Bidya Sundar Shakya has announced to complete the  project with top priority. 

6 Nepal-India Railway

Nepal and India have agreed to develop “an electric railroad” connecting Kathmandu with Raxaul of Bihar. In a bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Oli and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, Nepal and India signed an  agreement to this effect in April. The  agreement to connect Kathmandu with India by railroad came two years  after China agreed to develop a railroad to Kathmandu. Apart from this,  Indian railroad has already reached Biratnagar.  In  November, a train arrived in Biratnagar from Bathnala of India. The cross-border  railway line stretches 18.1 kilometers from Bathana of India to Kotahari  of Nepal where 13.1 kilometer falls in Nepal.

7 Kerung-Kathmandu Railway DPR work

Nepal  and China agreed to prepare a DPR for Kerung-Kathmandu Railway. After the National Railway  Authority of China conducted a study, both the countries have agreed on  the DPR. The railroad will be 80 kilometers long and is expected to be completed in eight years at the cost of around Rs 300  billion.

8 Tiger numbers double

The number of tigers in Nepal doubled earlier this year. The estimate of a survey released in September shows that the adult tiger population in the country has reached to 235, which is a 19 percent increment from the last census in 2013. According to the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC), Chitwan National Park boasts of the highest concentration of tigers in the country with 93 adult tigers. Likewise, there are 87 tigers in Bardiya National Park, 21 in Banke National Park, 18 in Parsa National Park and 16 in Shuklaphanta National Park.

9 End of transport cartels

The government announced to end transport syndicate in May. Its implementation, however, hasn’t been very encouraging. The Ministry of Physical Planning and Transport Management has extended the deadline for transport operators to register their businesses under the Companies Act. People are still hopeful that the government will not backtrack on its move to end the transport cartels.

10 Meeting 1 million tourist target

As Nepal starts  Visit Nepal 2020 campaign, the number of tourists arriving in the  country is gradually increasing in recent times. This is also  considered as one of the reasons to be hopeful in 2019. Details provided  by the Department of Immigration, Nepal recorded 520,000 tourist  arrivals in the first six months of 2018. The inflow is 13 percent more  compared to the previous year. This has made tourism  entrepreneurs and officials hopeful about achieving the target of welcoming 2  million tourists in 2020.

11 Mulpani Cricket Ground

It’s been a years-long dream for Nepali cricket fans to see Nepali cricketers playing national as well as international matches at the under-construction Mulpani Cricket Ground. But it took years for the construction work to gather momentum. Lately, some issues including the acquisition of land has been resolved and construction has gained pace. The stadium, which will have a cricket academy, practice ground, hostel, administrative building and swimming pool, is expected to be ready within two years.

12 Preparations to reopen Tatopani border

The devastating earthquakes of 2015 not only caused a huge loss of lives and property but also cut off Nepal’s major link with China as the Araniko Highway was badly damaged by the quakes. The closure of the only highway connecting Nepal with northern neighbor further increased Nepal’s dependence on India. Other road links to China such as the Rasuwa-Kerung aren’t in good condition. This badly hampered the trade between the two countries. The Chinese side has started work to restore the quake-damaged highway and the road is expected to reopen in May 2019.

13 Road reaches Dolpa

Dolpa was connected with the national road network earlier this year. With this, the country’s road access has reached to all district headquarters except for Humla. 

14 CIAA in action

Controversy about chief commissioner of the CIAA, Lokman Singh Karki, ended in 2018 after the Supreme Court disqualified him as the head of the anti-corruption body. After appointment of new CIAA chief and some other members in the constitutional body, the CIAA has stepped up investigations into irregularities at various national projects and some government offices that are taken as most-corrupt bodies. Its recent actions against those involved in some scams such as Siktra Irrigation Project and polymer note printing scam have spread a message of hope in the public.

15 Internet from China

The commercial operation of an optical fiber link formally began earlier this year, paving the way for supply of Internet bandwidth via Jilong gateway near Kerung, the Nepal-China border. With this, Nepal can now get bandwith Internet from both of its neighbors. Before launching the cross-border optical fiber link from China, Nepal was fully relying on Indian Internet.

16 Hongshi cements in Nepal 

Hongshi-Shivam Cement, a Nepal-China joint venture, started its production under the brand Hongshi Cements. With the entry of the international cement manufacturer in Nepal which produces in large scale, the price of cements is expected to drop in the local market. Over 1,000 Nepalis are employed in the Hongshi-Shivam factory in Nepal.

17 Koteshwar-Kalanki Ringroad, (Kalanki underpass opens)

As people in Kathmandu who have seen any major infrastructure project taking years and even decades to complete, the completion of Koteshwar-Kalanki Road Project along with an underpass at Kalanki square came as a relief. The 10.5 kilometer Kalanki-Kathmandu road expansion project, which started in 2013 with a Chinese grant of Rs. 5.13 billion was completed earlier this year.

18 Narayanghat-Mugling Road upgrade

People travelling along the Narayanghat-Mugling section, a key road connecting the capital city with the rest of the country, had to spend several hours to cross the 36 kilometers section for years. With the completion of the upgrading task of the road earlier this year, people can now cross the road section in around 45 minutes. This has come as a big relief for travelers in this key road section.

19 Motihari-Amlekhgunj Pipeline 

Construction  of Motihari-Amlekhgunj fuel pipeline is going to be complete soon. Of the pipeline’s total length of 36.2 kilometers, only 12.2 kilometer section remains to be constructed. Work to lay  pipeline along the 33.7-kilometer section from Motihari to Raxaul has been  completed. 

 
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