NepWaste to collect Kathmandu's waste

Published On: March 7, 2018 02:39 PM NPT By: Sagar Ghimire | @sagarghi

Photo Courtesy: Semanta Dahal's Twitter Account

Investment Board finalizes a much-awaited agreement with Finnish joint venture for the management of the municipal solid waste. Each household will have to pay Rs 219 per month as waste collection service fees.

KATHMANDU, Mar 7: The Investment Board of Nepal (IBN) has concluded the negotiations with NepWaste, a Finnish joint venture, for the management of the municipal solid waste of Kathmandu Valley through a Public Private Partnership (PPP) approach, paving the way for the signing of the project development agreement (PDA).

Following the implementation of this project, each household will have to pay Rs 219 per month as waste collection service fees while the NepWaste's obligations include door-to-door collection of waste, street sweeping and cleaning of riverbanks, surface drainage and public places like temples.

Investment Board finalized an agreement with NepWaste to be signed after the cabinet approval.

Each household will have to pay Rs 219 per month as waste collection service fees.

The public-private partnership project worth $50 million will be handed to govt after 20 years of commercial operation.

According to IBN officials, the board has finalized the agreement with the NepWaste on Wednesday following a two-year intense homework and negotiations as part of the Integrated Solid Waste Management Project (ISWMP).

"We have initialized the agreement following intense negotiations with the NepWaste for two years. The project development agreement will be signed after the approval from the cabinet meeting," Maha Prasad Adhikari, the IBN's CEO, told Republica.

The project envisions to replace the present practice of solid waste management- street sweeping, collection and disposal by a resource-oriented and sustainable practice of reducing, reuse and recycle for Kathmandu metropolis and 9 other municipalities.

The project worth $50 million will be executed after these municipalities approved the project, said the IBN's CEO Adhikari.

Nepwaste, a joint venture between Nepali and Finnish investors – was selected for Package 1 of the ISWMP. The package includes collecting waste from Kathmandu district and processing it at Banchare Danda.

According to Adhikari, the project will commence after three months of the signing of the PDA while the financial closure should be achieved within nine months with a possible extension.