Fast Track road project runs into controversy

Kathmandu: The government’s preparations to award the contract of the Kathmandu Tarai Fast Track road to an Indian consortium has been criticised by former prime minister and senior UCPN Maoist leader Baburam Bhattarai and other lawmakers. They said that instead of giving the project to the Indian firm, the government should build it with its own resources.

As part of preparation to award the project, Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport (MoPIT) recently completed negotiations with the Indian firm — a consortium of Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL&FS) Transportation Networks, IL&FS Engineering and Construction, and Suryavir Infrastructure Construction — which was the lowest bidder to build the project under build, own, operate and transfer (BOOT) modality.

Country’s telephone penetration crossed 100pc: Telecom regulator

Kathmandu: Country’s tele-density or telephone penetration has crossed 100 per cent mark. This has been revealed officially by the telecom regulator — Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA) — through its latest management information system (MIS) report.

The MIS report shows that the penetration rate reached 101.4 per cent by mid-April, with total telephone subscription at 26.86 million. Increased network coverage of wireless mobile service made a major contribution in achieving the feat. Tele-density measures the percentage of a country’s population with access to telephony services as determined by the subscriber base.

ADB, IFC to be consulted on TIA and SIA projects

Kathmandu: The government has decided to hold consultations with International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Asian Development Bank (ADB) to select the project implementation modality for construction of the Second International Airport (SIA) in Nijgadh and upgradation of Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA).

A board meeting of Investment Board Nepal (IBN) headed by PM Sushil Koirala took the decision to jointly consult with IFC and ADB, which is already supporting Nepal to upgrade TIA, today. The Ministry of Finance (MoF) will coordinate the consultation to look into options to undertake the two airport projects under public private partnership (PPP) or any other model, according to IBN.

Govt consults experts on 4G spectrum allocation

Kathmandu: Government has started making preparations to allocate frequency for much-talked-about fourth generation (4G) technology. Though spectrum bands for the technology were fixed three years ago, the potential service providers are yet to get the frequency to roll out the services.

While issuing Radio Frequency Pricing and Distribution Policy in 2012, Ministry of Information and Communications (MoIC) had announced of speeding up work on auction of 4G spectrum to introduce the new technology. Known as successor to 3G, 4G service allows a user to get comprehensive and mobile broadband solution for laptops, computers, smartphones and wireless modems.