C. Mani Chaulagain

Without adequate infrastructure development, a country cannot move towards the path of prosperity. For the country like Nepal, infrastructure development is the key to transform itself from the Least Developed Country to developing one. A national infrastructure network consists of national highways, railways, ports, bridges, tunnels, metro, national information highways. They form the backbone of a nation, bringing direct and indirect socio-economic benefits to its citizens. Infrastructure development can be effective through the public-private partnership approach.

Huge investment
However, building a robust and well-planned infrastructure would require a huge sum of investment. According to an ADB report, Asia will need an investment of US$ 26 trillion in infrastructure by the end of 2030. Currently, the region annually invests an estimated US$881 billion in the infrastructure. The infrastructure investment gap, which involves difference between investment need and current investment level, stands at 2.4 per cent of projected GDP for the five-year period from 2016 to 2020. This is where the relevance of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) comes. BRI is a transcontinental long-term policy and investment programme aimed at propelling socio-economic development in BRI member states by means of infrastructure development and acceleration of the economic integration of countries along the route of the historic Silk Road. Nepal as a close neighbour of China and a BRI member, should harness the enormous benefits from the global initiative.
Infrastructure connectivity is the central part of the BRI participated in by more than 138 countries and 30 plus international organisations. Some major BRI regional projects include Laos–China Cross Border Railway, Bangladesh Padma Bridge Rail Link, China-Western Europe Intercontinental Highway and China–Pakistan Economic Corridor, among others. China has invested in these strategic infrastructures, which have proved to be the game changer in the region.
The historic visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Nepal in October last year has laid a strong foundation for increased cooperation between the two neighbours under the BRI framework. During the president Xi’s visit, the two nations agreed to promote infrastructure connectivity by developing cross-border railway and roadway. They also decided to boost institutional-level coordination on policy sharing, synchronisation and information between the relevant institutions from two nations.
Nepal is pushing scores of cross-border connectivity projects to be implemented under the BRI framework. China-Nepal Cross-Border Railway that starts from Xian and passes through Lhasa and Shigatse and arrives in Kerung near Nepal-China border. Both the governments have decided to conduct feasibility study, prepare DPR and explore appropriate modality for the railway construction. Likewise, the two nations are working to upgrade Kerung-Kathmandu, Tatopani-Kathmandu cross-border roads which play an instrumental role in boosting bilateral trade, tourism and people-to-people relations.
The proposed Koshi Corridor Project is located in State 1 in eastern Nepal. It starts from Leguwa township of Dhankuta district and ends at Kimathanka of Sankhuwasabha district, connecting with Chentang town at China-Nepal border. The estimated length of this road is 182 kilometres. The proposed Kaligandaki corridor is a part of North-South road which starts at Belahiya in Rupandehi district and ends at Korala (Mustang district). The 403-kilometre-long Karnali corridor will link Surkhet of Karnali state with Hilsa village along Nepal-China border. The road will play an important role in uplifting the socio-economic development of Karnali and Sudurmpaschim states.
The proposed cross-border transmission line extends from Galchhi in Nepal to Shigatse of China. Of estimated 800-km long transmission line, about 80-km lies within Nepali territory. The Nepali portion of the power line will stretch from Galchhi in Dhading district to Rasuwagadhi in the border with China. Likewise, the cross-border optical fibre network can bring about a digital revolution in Nepal. China possesses one of the most advanced ICT networks in the world. By interconnecting telecom and IT networks of both the countries, Nepal will see the reduction in the cost of the international bandwidth, which is still quite high (around 8 US$ per MB per month). Likewise, Nepal can have access to advanced Chinese internet contents and applications. Currently, Chinese mobile operators and Nepali mobile operators have cooperated on bandwidth sharing to ensure Nepal’s access to regional internet hub in Hong Kong.
It is only through the infrastructure revolution that a nation can unleash the development potential fast. The BRI cooperation can be instrumental in triggering development. So, what does Nepal need to do in order to benefit from BRI cooperation? Is Nepal working sincerely to implement the gigantic cooperation project with necessary administrative and legislative framework? Are policy bottlenecks hampering the realisation of the BRI?

Legislative apparatus
Government of Nepal should gear up for necessary policy support so as to create conducive environment for the increased cooperation. Nepal should formulate, enact national financing policies and legislation for setting up a legal framework for introduction of financing and execution of the projects. This will lay the foundation to embrace this landmark cooperation of 21st century. Robust legislative apparatus and efficient administrative processes are the key to the successful implementation of BRI cooperation in Nepal.

(Chaulagain is an engineering graduate from China and chairman of One World Corporations. manichuda@hotmail.com)