Of the total budget of Rs 384.9 billion, only 18.86 percent has been earmarked for capital expenditure.
Making public its official statement on the budget at a press meet here on Wednesday, FCAN President Yakshya Dhoj Karki said the capital expenditure budget will not be sufficient for the timely completion of large projects of national importance.
“Against the backdrop of timely budget presentation, there is adequate time to carry out capital expenditure and increase the pace of infrastructure development,” said Karki. “But with such an insufficient allocation, it will be difficult to carry out prioritised projects like Mid-Hills Highway, Kathmandu-Terai Fast Track and Postal Highway in Terai at a rapid pace.”
Nevertheless, the federation praised the budget for declaring various new projects of national importance and hoped that it will benefit national contractors as well generate employment. According to Karki, to ensure the achievement of capital expenditure, different stakeholders such as political parties, their sister organisations, the government, bureaucracy and the private sector play an important role. He said all these stakeholders should make the environment conducive enough to carry out infrastructural development.
However, FCAN condemned the budget’s provision through which it aims to develop large infrastructure projects through the involvement of local public and consumer forums. Karki said such a provision is against the principal of infrastructure development. “Local public and consumer forums do not have technical and professional expertise to undertake large projects,” he said. To address the existing hoodlum in the tender process, FCAN had demanded a provision of e-bidding. The provision came into effect a few years ago for all projects amounting Rs 20 million and above. However, according to contractors, although the government introduced the e-procurement, the system still does not guarantee anonymity of bidding firms as it lacks single revenue account.
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