Nepal Seeks Indian Investment in Hydro Power, Roads & Highways

Kathmandu: Nepal has invited Indian investments in hydro power, roads and highways and the hotel industry to give a boost to economic ties between the two countries.

Huge business opportunities exist in sectors such as roads and highway, hydro power, etc, Maha Prasad Adhikari, chief executive officer (CEO) of the Investment Board Nepal (IBN), a body under the Government of Nepal, told reporters here on the sidelines of the Nepal Investment Summit 2019.

The IBN, Chaired by Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli, is a high-level fast track agency with the objective of facilitating the economic development of Nepal by creating an investment-friendly environment by mobilising and managing domestic as well as foreign investment, Adhikari said.

"Nepal is a developing country. In Nepal, there is immense potential in sectors such as hydro power, roads and highway, hotel industry and investors must take advantage of this situation. We invite foreign investors including our neighbour India to invest in such sectors here," he said adding that out of the 700 delegates attending the Investors Summit, 120 were from India.

Developing roads and highways and building hydro power projects are key focus areas of the government, he said.

Building roads and highways, Adhikari said, will help better connectivity of towns and cities among each other, and with neighbouring countries which can promote trade and bring down logistics costs.

Nepal also needs electricity and the companies keen to invest in this area are welcome to set up hydro power projects, he added.

When asked about the incentives the government is providing on new investments, Adhikari said, "

"The government will provide all support to any investor. Any investor can come and submit it's investment plan and conduct a detailed project report (DPR) and the government will help in fast-tracking the process."

The government will soon come up with a single-window clearance system to facilitate new investments into the country so that the investors need not get the documents cleared by multiple government departments, he added.