KTM-Tarai Fast track 
Thursday’s cabinet decision to build the 76-km Kathmandu-Nijgadh expressway with Nepal’s own resources could be a game-changer. This is because never before has a project of this scale—with an estimated cost of around Rs 100 billion—been undertaken by Nepalis alone. Previously, it would have been unthinkable for Nepal to think of such ambitious projects without asking for help from its bilateral and multilateral donors. In fact, if the government of Sushil Koirala had its way, even the Kathmandu-Nijgadh fast track project was to go to a foreign contractor. But the decision to award it to the Indian consortium led by Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL&FS) became controversial right from the start. On successfully winning the bid to build the expressway, the consortium then inexplicably asked for Rs 15 in grant from Nepal government. It also wanted Nepal to guarantee revenues of Rs 20 billion a year should the expected traffic on the expressway fail to materialize. The opposition parties rose up in arms against such conditions that were clearly against national interest. The Supreme Court agreed and in October 2015 ruled against awarding the contract to the Indian consortium. 

It was a timely intervention from the judiciary. If Nepal had agreed to the conditions of the Indian consortium, the Nepali state would potentially have had to pay out billions of rupees every year in perpetuity. But why agree to such conditions when there is no need to ask foreigners to come and build such projects for us? The capital market in Nepal is strong enough to come up with the project cost of Rs 100 billion. In fact, the cabinet on Thursday has already formed a seven-member committee under National Planning Commission Vice-chairman Min Bahadur Shrestha to work out the best way of funding the project. The committee will also decide whether the DPR prepared by the Indian consortium is still useful or a new plan has to be drawn up. Whatever the case, it is now certain that Nepal will be building the project on its own. And if it comes through on time, it will be one project that all Nepalis can take pride in—it will be built by the Nepalis and for the Nepalis. There could be no greater boost to the flagging national morale than to pull off such a challenging project on our own. 

We now hope that the committee under NPC vice-chair Shrestha completes its assigned duty within the month’s time it has been given and thus clear the way for construction.

What we fear the most as we undertake this vital project is that the initial zeal could soon die and the project could be held in limbo, for years on end, as has been the case with most of our other important national undertakings such as the Melamchi drinking water project and the Gautam Buddha International Airport in Rupandehi. We will have to guard against such complacency; for we can’t afford to get this one wrong. If the fast track project is a success, the confidence it will give our investors and builders will herald a new era in Nepal’s development. If it fails, it will be an unmistakable sign that the country still has to rely on the outside world to get anything important done. 

 
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