Physical Infrastructure Ministry spends only 24% of budget

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Dec. 21: Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Kul Man Ghising has directed the officials to immediately start the process of new tenders to ensure the construction of cancelled road projects.

At the first-quarter progress review of the current fiscal year 2025/26 and the ministerial-level development problem resolution committee meeting on Friday, Minister Ghising said that the new tender process should be immediately taken forward after measuring the remaining work of the cancelled contracts and calculating the budget required to complete the construction.

About 43 contracts for the construction of roads and bridges that had been pending for years under the Department of Roads have been cancelled. The total amount of the 43 contracts is Rs. 2.97 billion.

As budget for the projects whose contracts were terminated had already been arranged in advance, there is no problem at present, and if any issues arise, necessary initiatives and facilitation will be carried out in coordination with the Ministry of Finance, Minister Ghising said, adding that the uncertainty seen in the multi-year agreement for bridge construction would be resolved.

He said, "There have been many problems in bridge construction in the Tarai/Madhes. Many bridges are stalled, while the same amount of work can be done on roads after a certain budget is allocated, but it is not possible to do so on bridges. So, we have to go through a multi-year process."

He said that the progress of the bodies under the physical infrastructure and transport was seen to be low in the first quarter of the current fiscal year and now it needs to be improved in the coming months.

"Budget blockage may be one reason, but even projects run with foreign aid, which do not have budget problems, are progressing slowly. It is necessary to solve the problems seen and expedite the construction progress. Let us all take initiative in this regard," he said.

Secretary of the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport Keshav Kumar Sharma said that the quarterly progress was not encouraging and said that the process of managing the terminated projects should be taken forward immediately without leaving them idle.

In the current fiscal year, Rs. 151.75 billion has been allocated for the bodies under the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport. Out of this, Rs. 48.52 billion has been allocated for the first quarter. Of the amount allocated for the first quarter, only Rs. 11.64 billion has been spent. 

It is only 7.67 per cent on the basis of annual budget allocation and 24 per cent on the basis of quarterly allocations. The ministry presented several problems related to project implementation. 

These included issues in project selection, prioritisation and budget allocation. 

It also pointed out difficulties in implementing contract agreements due to frequent local obstructions during construction works. Such obstructions have occurred because the jurisdiction of roads under national pride projects has not yet been determined, as the relevant decision has not been published in the gazette. 

In addition, confusion has been observed in the management of terminated contracts and re-contracting processes.