The government has relaxed restrictive measures imposed to break the chain of COVID-19 pandemic in view of declining cases of virus and fatalities caused by it. However, the virus is mutating with the emergence of new variants, posing a continuous threat to public health. The government had adopted the policy of controlling the pandemic on one hand, and resuming the normal life and economic activities on the other. It has become urgent to operate local businesses, development projects, tourism and foreign trade to give a new lease of life to the national economy battered by the pandemic. It is necessary to generate jobs for those rendered jobless by the pandemic. As the virus scourge has hit almost all nations across the globe, it disrupted global production networks and flow of capital, goods and services. The resurgence of virus has again severely impacted the inflows of the foreign direct investment (FDI), which plays a vital role in building big projects in the recipient nations.

Nepal has also suffered economic fallout of pandemic in terms of FDI flow into the country. Nepal’s FDI inflow has shrunk by 32 per cent to $126 million (Rs. 14.74 billion) in 2020, according to the World Investment Report 2021 of United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) released on June 21. The drastic decline in the FDI inflow in Nepal has been attributed to halt of tourism activities due to the pandemic. The report states that the disruption in the tourism had a significant impact on the economy through multiple linkages that it entails in various industries. In the last five years, Nepal received the highest FDI amount of Rs. 23.16 billion in 2017. This report amply suggests that the pandemic has hit the country two ways. On one hand, it caused huge damage to the domestic economy. At the same time, its FDI share has been also reduced significantly.

Nepal needs massive investment to build big infrastructure and boost the industrialisation process. Against this backdrop, the Investment Board of Nepal (IBN) has approved foreign investment worth Rs. 97 billion for the construction of large hydropower projects. According to the news report of this daily, a meeting of the Board on Tuesday approved estimated investment of US$ 540 million for Upper Tamor Hydroelectricity Project and Rs. 33.41 billion for Lower Manang Marsyangdi Hydroelectricity Project. Similarly, it also accepted the Detailed Project Report (DPR) of the China-Nepal Friendship Industrial Park being built in Damak of Jhapa district and directed the Board officials to make preparations for the Project Development Agreement (PDA) signing agreement with the developer.

At the meeting, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli instructed the concerned authorities for the timely construction of the transmission lines to supply the electricity of the Arun-III Hydroelectricity Project. The 900-MW project being constructed by the SJVN India Limited in Sankhuwasabha district is considered as a game changer in economic development of the eastern region. However, it is essential to build transmission lines and make agreements on the consumption and export of the electricity in advance. An amount of Rs. 11 billion has been set aside to build the transmission lines. Various government agencies must coordinate and cooperate with each other to build them so that generated electricity will not go to waste.