Three umbrella organizations of the business community draw PM’s attention for early endorsement of the MCC Agreement

Published On: November 14, 2021 04:02 PM NPT By: Republica

KATHMANDU, Nov 14: Three umbrella organizations of the business community have urged Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba to take a firm, principled and affirmative action to ratify the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Nepal Compact Agreement through parliament without any further delay.

Highlighting the importance of the MCC projects for the country, the Nepal-USA Chamber of Commerce, Federation of Nepali Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FNCCI), Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI) in a joint statement on Sunday urged for the ratification of the project through the parliament at the earliest for the overall economic growth of the country. The Nepal-USA Chamber of Commerce handed over the joint statement to Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba at the latter’s official residence in Baluwatar.

Stating that the Nepal government had prioritized the development of power and transport infrastructures in consultation with civil society, private sector, and numerous other stakeholders to uplift its economy, the MCC project should be ratified by the federal parliament, reads the joint statement.

The three umbrella organizations of the business community in the joint statement have stated that the energy generated from Nepal’s power projects will go to waste without the presence of adequate power transmission infrastructure. They have maintained that the transmission lines constructed under the MCC Nepal Compact as part of the Transmission System Development Plan of Nepal will solve that problem.

The joint statement warned that the investments made in power projects will be at risk due to the absence of essential infrastructures. In addition, the project is expected to generate over 7,000 employment opportunities for Nepalis for the construction of the projects and use local materials and expertise.

The joint statement also said that the MCC is in Nepal’s interest as the country faces a massive shortage of resources to meet enormous infrastructure needs. Also, the statement warns that backtracking from an already signed international agreement will ruin the image and erode the trustworthiness of Nepal in the global community, driving away foreign investors as well as donors.