Each household will have to pay waste management fee of Rs 219 per month
KATHMANDU, March 7: Investment Board of Nepal (IBN) has concluded negotiations with NepWaste, a Nepal-Finland joint venture, for the management of municipal solid waste of Kathmandu district through a Public Private Partnership (PPP) approach, paving the way for signing of project development agreement (PDA).
As per the negotiation, each household will have to pay Rs 219 per month as waste collection service fee to NepWaste, while the joint venture is required to collect waste from people's doorsteps, clean up riverbanks, surface drainage and public places like temples.
According to IBN officials, the board finalized the agreement with NepWaste on Wednesday following a two-year intense homework and negotiations as part of the Integrated Solid Waste Management Project (ISWMP).
IBN board okays PDA with NepWaste
"We have initialized the agreement following an intense negotiation with NepWaste that spanned nearly two years. The PDA will be signed after the PDA draft is approved by the cabinet,” Maha Prasad Adhikari, CEO of IBN, told Republica.
The US% 50 million project aims to replace the existing practice of solid waste management -- street sweeping, collection and disposal by a resource-oriented and sustainable practice of reducing, reusing and recycle for Kathmandu Metropolitan City and nine other municipalities Kathmandu district.
NepWaste was selected for Package 1 of the ISWMP. The package includes collecting waste from Kathmandu district and processing it at BanchareDanda.
According to Adhikari, the project will commence after three months of the signing of the PDA, while the joint venture is required to achieve financial closure within nine months with a possible deadline extension of three months. The project will be handed over to the government after 20 years, added Adhikari.
Along with Kathmandu Metropolitan City, Dakchinkali, Chandragiri, Nagarjun, Tarakeshwor, Tokha, Budhanilkantha, Gokarneswhor, Kageshwori-Manahara and Shankharapur are other municipalities where the project will be implemented under Package 1.
NepWaste will be paying an estimated Rs 3 billion in royalties to the government along with other applicable taxes during the project operation period, according to the IBN.
The project is also expected to generate 4-5 megawatt of electricity and compressed natural gas as well as compost fertilizer and refuse derived fuel.
IBN has also resolved the issue of management of over 1,200 staffers of Kathmandu Metropolitan City Office working for waste collection, transportation and disposal.
"The project developer has agreed to manage formal and informal workers associated with solid waste management during the first three months of the transitional period," added Adhikari.
