Kathmandu. Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Poudel has stressed the need for mobilizing alternative development finances to ensure sustainable economic development and long-term investment in infrastructure projects.
Presenting the theoretical concept of the bill on alternative development finance mobilization in today’s meeting of the House of Representatives( HoR), Minister Poudel said the bill has been brought to provide legal basis to the need to raise resources for projects of national priority by meeting the current financial resource shortage. According to him, the bill has been brought to cover issues related to identification, prioritization, internal resources required for investment in infrastructure, foreign investment, proper use of various financial instruments, institutional structure, monitoring and evaluation.
Finance Minister Poudel expressed the view that the bill was also necessary to mobilize the resources of alternative development finance and to create employment through it. According to the theoretical concept presented by him, rapid competition in infrastructure development, climate change, increasing access to information technology and the need for investment in infrastructure as per the expectations of the citizens are increasing. Studies on investment needs and prospects in Nepal have shown that more than Rs 1 trillion investment will be required in the next decade.
Similarly, in the past, only Rs 200-300 billion has been invested annually in infrastructure in Nepal. New sources of investment and measures are needed to fill the gap between investment needs and achievements. According to the long-term national goals set by the government in the 13th Plan, there is a need for huge investment in the areas of power generation, upgradation of transmission and distribution system, industrial zone, special economic zone, smart city, city development, tourism development plan, road, irrigation, drinking water and airport construction.
Poudel had approved the working procedure related to alternative finance while taking charge as finance minister in June last year.
