Nepal Mass Rapid Transit System Is Deemed Feasible

(I-TravelNewswire.Com, August 26, 2013 ) Kathmandu, Nepal -- The Investment Board Nepal (IBN) in Nepal, India is preparing to call for global bidding to select a contractor for the new Kathmandu metro. Last year, the government Cabinet had decided to assign the metro railway project to the IBN and the detailed project report (DPR) job to Nepal Metro for the proposed Kathmandu Metro Railway Project. The IBN has been working on finalizing the terms of reference (TOR) for the study over the period. IBN has recently submitted a proposal to conduct the detailed study for the mass rapid transit system to be built in collaboration with international firms.

The Investment Board Nepal CEO Radhesh Pant clarified, “We have sought comments over the draft TOR [terms of reference] from the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport.” He also said that once the terms of reference are ready he would sign an agreement with Nepal Metro to do the DPR [detailed project report]. Nepal Metro would like to do the entire project but the government is reluctant to assign them the construction work.

Under the build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) modality, a global tender is necessary to build the mass rapid transit system, says Tulasi Prasad Sitaula, secretary at the Physical Infrastructure Ministry. However, “Nepal Metro too would be able to participate in the bidding,” he stipulated. This was bad news for Nepal Metro CEO Deepak Timilsina, who wanted contracts for both the construction and the detailed project report.

When the government assigned the tasks to the two companies last year, they also hired consultants consisting of a consortium of Nepali and Korean construction firms to prepare a feasibility report for the project. All of the members of the consortium validated that the project consisting of five metro lines would be feasible. They have concluded that the Capital’s railway system would costs an estimated US$ 3.88 billion. “After signing the contract for the project, we will be able come up with the DPR within eight to 12 months,” said Nepal Metro CEO Deepak Timilsina.

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