Fourth Infrastructure Summit from today

By A Staff Reporter

Kathmandu, Sept. 8: The fourth Nepal Infrastructure Summit (NIS) 2022 will kick off in Kathmandu on Thursday. 

The Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI) is holding the largest event on infrastructure development and financing in collaboration with the Government of Nepal since 2014. It is the fourth edition in the series that was launched in 2014 and organised in 2017 and 2019. The second edition was delayed due to the Gorkha Earthquake and the Indian blockade while it was suspended due to COVID-19 pandemic after 2019. 

The NIS 2022 aims to continue identifying key constraints to infrastructural development in the current context, catalyze reforms promised by the government for infrastructure development, and forge stronger networks and alliances in the region for seamless connectivity and shared growth. 

Likewise, it also has the objectives of attracting large scale private investment in Nepal’s core needs and strengths, and prioritise the delivery of green, climate-resilient infrastructure projects that help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The conference is expected to gather over 1000 participants including government officials, private sector leaders, foreign dignitaries, think tanks and investors. 

According to the CNI, the summit has a special focus on Information and Communication Technology. 

“Nepal, although well-endowed with natural resources, has difficult terrain and topography for connectivity. Being landlocked, both internal and external movement of goods and people is costly and inefficient. ICT is one area where goods (services) are independent of distance and weight,” it said. 

Since the pandemic has increased the dependence on digital infrastructure for connectivity, NIS 2022 believes that investment in digital infrastructure and technology integration will help Nepal ride the digital wave, develop a competitive edge and be a part of the global value chain.

Similarly, the organisers said that the summit will revive the zeal for policy reforms. According to them, innovative financing modalities, foreign direct investment, further engagement of the private sector, technology adoption and digital transformation require a solid foundation of policies, strategies, and governance – married with a zeal for sweeping legal and economic reforms spearheaded by the central government in coordination with its subnational counterparts. “To this end, NIS 2022 is designed to ensure participation of provincial representatives, which will bring a bottom-up approach to growth and enable reforms for inclusive growth,” said CNI. 

Nepal has set an ambitious economic growth target of 8 per cent for FY 2022/23 while the growth rate for the last fiscal is estimated to be around 5.84 per cent. There is a compelling argument for infrastructural investment as a stimulus post-COVID-19.

According to a recent study conducted by CNI and Institute for Integrated Development Studies (IIDS), public funding of capital projects has increased in recent years, but gaps remain, of between US$77 billion and $136 billion until 2030 in just four priority sectors of energy, transport, urban development and water and sanitation. 

NIS 2022 seeks to reinforce the idea that in the path to economic recovery, the best bet is investments in infrastructure with focus on green infrastructure and financing, maintained the organisers.