Government Announces Action Plan to Accelerate Public Infrastructure Development

The government has announced plans to amend the Public Procurement Act within 30 days to ensure a digital, transparent, and traceable process. A review of delayed projects and contracts that have been broken will be conducted by forming a study team within 30 days. The cabinet has also decided to draft a law allowing projects that fail to attract contractors to be implemented through its own infrastructure company. Kathmandu, March 29.

The government’s commitment to amending the Public Procurement Act is included among 100 decisions related to governance reforms. To control delays, cost overruns, low-quality work, and corruption in public procurement, the act will be revised within 30 days. The amendment will prioritize value-for-money approaches, life-cycle costing, e-governance marketplaces, and performance-based contract systems.

Ravi Singh, President of the Nepal Construction Entrepreneurs’ Federation, stated that removing certain inhumane provisions from the procurement law would accelerate development and construction activities. He remarked, “Currently, if a contract is cancelled, there is a provision to collect the equivalent cost from the contractor. How can development progress with such inhumane provisions?” He suggested that law reforms should adopt an impartial perspective applicable to all, rather than targeting those with influence.

The Ministry of Finance is preparing various measures to make project implementation more effective. It is introducing a new mechanism to ensure automatic multi-year funding for projects included in the medium-term expenditure framework. According to the ministry, this will improve budget efficiency and ensure timely completion of projects.