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Kami Rita Sherpa created history by climbing Mt Everest for the 27th time on Wednesday. The 53-year-old climber stood atop the world’s highest peak at 8: 30 am today, Yuwaraj Khatiwada, Director of the Department of Tourism, said. The permanent resident of Thame in Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality of Solukhumbu district and currently residing in Kathmandu, Kami Rita broke his own record by climbing Mt Everest for 27^th time today. Khatiwada said that the expedition was going on in full swing and the number of expedition groups making it to the top of Mt Everest today could not be ascertained owing to lack of communications with the climbers inching towards the summit. He said that there was a high prospect of many mountaineers reaching atop Everest by this evening. "Some 'good news' could be broken by this evening," he said. Imagine Nepal Treks and Expedition Company's Director Mingma Gyalzen Sherpa said that over 100 mountaineers including Kami Rita have climbed Mt Everest so far this spring while as many were on a summit push bid today. "Kami Rita’s latest ascent has spread a message to the world that the mountaineering sector of Nepal is safe," asserted Khatiwada. Kami Rita, who first set his feet atop the Everest on May 13, 1994, has climbed many mountains over 8,000 meters at home and abroad over 39 times till date. Meanwhile, Pasang Dawa Sherpa is trailing Kami Rita and ascended Everest for the 26th time this spring. A record number of climbers are attempting to scale Mt Everest this spring as Nepal issued the highest number of the Everest climbing permits in history for the season since the first successful ascent of the Everest on May 29, 1953. The Department issued 478 permits for 44 groups for this season.  

A sharp slowdown in economic activities, slackened domestic demand and tighter monetary policy have taken a toll on the economy of all seven provinces of the country. The National Statistics Office (NSO) has forecasted lower economic growth for all the provinces for the current fiscal year. According to NSO, Gandaki Province will have the highest economic growth among the seven provinces in the current fiscal year. Making public the Province-wise Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Estimates on Tuesday, the NSO said that Gandaki's GDP is expected to grow by 3.3 percent in FY 2022/23. The GDP growth of Gandaki in the current fiscal has shrunk by almost 50 percent compared to 6.4 percent in the last fiscal year. The GDP of the Bagmati Province, where the country's federal capital and financial hub Kathmandu is located, is expected to grow at the slowest rate of 1.4 percent. With the growth of wholesale and retail trade becoming negative, the province's economic outlook is bleak. The share of wholesale and retail trade in Bagmati province's GDP is 23.6 percent. NSO has estimated the growth rate of Koshi Province to be 2 percent, Madhesh Province 1.7 percent, Lumbini Province 2.1 percent, Karnali Province 1.9 percent, and Sudurpaschim Province 1.8 percent in the current fiscal year While the NSO has forecasted the lowest GDP growth for Bagmati Province, it still accounts for the lion's share of the country's total GDP, contributing 36.8 percent. The province’s GDP is expected to reach Rs 1,981 billion in FY 2022/23, up from Rs 1,819 billion in 2021/22. The output of Gandaki province is expected to reach Rs 482 billion. The province’s contribution to the national GDP is expected to remain at 9 percent. The agriculture sector is the highest contributor to Gandaki’s economy, accounting for 25.9 percent of the province's GDP. According to NSO, the economic output of Karnali in the current fiscal year is estimated to reach Rs 221 billion. The share of Karnali in the total GDP is estimated to remain at 4.1 percent. The agriculture sector is a key contributor making up 30.8 percent of its GDP. NSO has estimated that Koshi Province's GDP will reach Rs 849 billion in FY 2022/23, up from Rs 780 billion in FY 2021/22. The contribution of Koshi Province to the national GDP is expected to be 15.8 percent. Agriculture accounts for 33.2 percent of the GDP of the province. The GDP of Lumbini Province is expected to reach Rs 762 billion in the current fiscal year from Rs 697 billion in the last fiscal year. The province contributes 14.2 percent to the national GDP. The agriculture sector contributes 29.8 percent to the provincial GDP. The GDP of Sudurpashchim Province is estimated at Rs 376 billion in the current fiscal year, up from Rs 345 billion in the last fiscal year. The contribution of the province to the national GDP has been estimated to remain at 7 percent. The Madhesh Province's GDP is expected to reach Rs 707 billion in FY 2022/23 from Rs 650 billion in FY 2021/22. The share of Madhesh in the national GDP is 13.1 percent in the current fiscal year. With a share of 35.2 percent, the agriculture sector is the highest contributor to the province's GDP.

The government on Wednesday decreased the fare of long-route public vehicles. The Department of Transport Management slashed the fare of long-route public vehicles after the Nepal Oil Corporation decreased the price of diesel. Issuing a notice today, the Department said that the fare of public vehicles has been adjusted automatically based on the fuel price. The fare of public vehicles has been reduced by 3.20 percent. Similarly, the fare of goods carrier vehicles operated in the hilly route has decreased by 4.19 percent and that of the goods carrier vehicles operated in Tarai routes by 4.65 percent.    

Visiting Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs of Australia Tim Watts paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Wednesday. During the meeting held at the Prime Minister's official residence in Baluwatar, matters relating to bilateral interests were discussed, the Prime Minister's Secretariat said. On the occasion, the prime minister expected continuous support from the government of Australia and the people there to Nepal's development and prosperity. He also inquired about the status and issues of Nepali students in Australia. The Prime Minister also extended an invitation to his Australian counterpart for the visit to Nepal. The two also touched on issues ranging from commercialization of the agriculture sector and development of agro-based industries to the promotion of tourism industry for Nepal's economic prosperity. The Australian assistant minister assured of continuous support from Australia to Nepal's development and prosperity campaign.  

With dynamic changes taking place in the energy sector, the government has started preparations to amend the Hydropower Development Policy, 2001. The two-decade-old policy is being revised in order to incorporate the latest developments and changes in the energy sector as Nepal gradually moves toward becoming a net energy exporter from a net energy importer. The Policy Research Institute (PRI), a government think tank, has been mandated with groundwork for a new hydropower development policy. For this purpose, PRI on Monday initiated discussions with the concerned stakeholders. Government officials said the current policy covers only the hydropower sector. With new technologies being practiced for electricity generation such as solar, and wind, there is a need to incorporate the concept of energy mix. "There is a need to increase domestic electricity consumption as well as investments in the sector," said Buddha Gurung, Joint Secretary at Prime Minister's Office. During the discussion organized by PRI, stakeholders stressed the need to make the policy private-sector friendly. "The investment of the private sector in hydropower has increased lately. But the government's policy is not private sector friendly," said Ganesh Karki, Vice-president of Independent Power Producers' Association, Nepal (IPPAN). "Currently, the private sector contributes 80 percent to the electricity production. Still, the private sector is ignored. If we fail to complete the hydro project on time, we have to pay a fine to the Nepal Electricity Authority. But when the NEA doesn’t construct a transmission line on time, our power goes wasted. Should we also be paid for the loss?” he said. "So the existing policy is just one-sided." Likewise, the private sector representatives also mentioned the need to allow the private sector to engage in power trading. "The participation of the private sector in electricity production has brought Nepal to this stage. Within a few years, Nepal's installed capacity will reach 8,000 MW, however, all the electricity generated will not be consumed in Nepal. It needs to be sold to India and Bangladesh, for which government initiative alone is not enough,” he said. "Now, we need the participation of the private sector to take a leap in the power trading business." During the discussion, private power producers highlighted the need to ease the overall process of hydropower development. According to them, developers have to visit multiple ministries and departments to get clearance for the hydropower project. According to them, there should be a one-desk policy. They also demanded the government bring policies to encourage the private sector to undertake large-scale power projects. Currently, hydropower projects are being developed at an average cost of Rs 200 million per MW, though in some projects it has reached up to Rs 400 million per MW. According to power producers, the private sector is ready to undertake major projects at a lower cost and the government should introduce policies to incentivize such initiatives. Speaking on the occasion, Gokarna Rajpanth, Secretary at Electricity Regulatory Commission, said the policy should be revised to cover not only hydropower but the entire energy sector. “Preparations are being made to introduce a new electricity act. The new policy should incorporate the issues not addressed by the new electricity act but also brought in such a way that would help in the implementation of the new act," he said. Netra Gyawali, CEO of Rastriya Prasaran Grid Co. Ltd. suggested that the new policy should incorporate the aspect of improving the electricity distribution system. "While we are now emphasizing increasing electricity consumption, our distribution system is not efficient," he said. "These issues should also be addressed by the new policy." Buddhi Paudel, Joint Secretary at Ministry of Forest and Environment was of the view that hydropower projects should also pay attention to water conservation. "If water and the environment are protected, the lifespan of hydropower projects will also be long," he said, "We are trying to amend the laws necessary to facilitate environmental impact assessment of hydropower projects." Arjun Kumar Gautam, CEO of HIDCL said power generation, transmission, distribution, and investment should be kept in one basket. "Earlier, the policy was introduced to increase electricity generation but the other parts were not cared for. That is why, electricity production has been increasing but consumption has not increased," he said, adding, "Along with power generation, equal focus should be given to transmission, distribution, consumption, and investment issues."

The price of gold has dropped by Rs 1, 100 per tola in the domestic market on Wednesday. According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the yellow bullion is being traded at Rs 110, 000 per tola today. The yellow metal was traded at Rs 111, 100 per tola on Tuesday. Meanwhile, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 195, 500 per tola. Similarly, the price of silver has dropped by Rs 5 and is being traded at Rs 1,370 per tola today.

On 1 Jan 2023, Pokhara International Airport, built under a Chinese soft loan, was inaugurated with much fanfare. The inauguration also invited a short-lived criticism after China placed it under the Belt and Road Initiative, even though the agreement for the airport project was finalized before Nepal became part of the BRI. It has been more than five months since the airport came into operation but there are no signs of the airport receiving international flights. The airport authorities say talks are going on with some airlines in India, China, and other countries but the chances of international airlines making flights to and from Pokhara airport in the near future appear slim. Without international flights, the airport cannot make sufficient income to sustain itself. According to Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) officials, the airport should conduct at least 100 daily domestic flights and 50 weekly international flights in order to sustain its operations. The airport has to pay US$ 3.2m alone in annual interest. Officials say the airport must have an income of at least Rs 1.5bn annually. If used to its full potential, the airport could raise income to sustain its operating expenses but that would not be enough to pay the installment of loans including interest. Some economists are of the opinion that there was no proper homework about the operational side of the airport. According to them, it was necessary to make an action plan on how to operate the airport constructed with a loan. “The loan was taken without taking these issues into consideration,” says economist Keshav Acharya. Nepali authorities didn’t even give a thought as to whether India would allow flights from Pokhara to Indian cities, given that it was being built with Chinese loan. For the Pokhara International Airport to be commercially successful, Nepal has to target Indian and Chinese tourists and establish direct flights to major cities of the two countries. Sadly, none of these has happened till date. While CAAN has been claiming that some international airlines have shown interest to start their flights to Pokhara, they are yet to realize. Even before the airport was inaugurated, Nepal’s leading private airline, Buddha Air had announced that it would start Pokhara-Varanasi flights from the new international airport. The airline had said that it was preparing for three weekly flights from Pokhara to Varanasi as well as flights from Pokhara to Delhi. Aviation experts say the government should start diplomatic initiatives with India. According to them,  a special agreement should be made with India to make both international airports in Pokhara and Bhairahawa operational. No aids, only concessional loans In 2014, Luo Yan, chairman of the China CAMC Engineering Co. Ltd., and Ratish Chandra Lal Suman,  director general of CAAN, had signed a contract worth $215.96m for the construction of the airport.   Then, on 21 March 2016, China Exim Bank and the Government of Nepal signed a government concessional loan (GCL) agreement worth RMB 1.37bn for the Pokhara International Regional Airport Construction Project.  According to AidData, a research lab based in Washington DC, 25 percent of the loan value (RMB 355.9m) was provided without interest and with a maturity period of 20 years and a grace period of 7 years. The remaining 75 percent of the loan value (RMB 1.02bn) was provided at a 2 percent interest rate, 20-year maturity period and a 7-year grace period.  The AidData report further says Nepal used the proceeds from this loan agreement to on-lend to CAAN at a 5 percent interest rate (with a 20-year maturity period and a 7-year grace period) through a Subsidiary Loan Agreement (SLA) that was finalized on 5 June 2016.   The airport construction project was delayed after China Exim Bank set a condition that a joint escrow account should be set up into which CAAN—the project executing agency—would have to deposit the income generated from all its airports, according to the report. CAAN refused to do so which delayed the release of the project funds, and construction of the airport stalled. However, CAAN and China Exim Bank eventually agreed in 2017 to only deposit revenues generated by Pokhara International Regional Airport into the escrow account.  It involves the construction of a 2,500-meter-long and 45-meter-wide airport that can accommodate medium-category jets like the Boeing 757 and the Airbus A320. It also involves the construction of an apron, international and domestic terminal buildings, an air traffic control tower, a cargo terminal building along with an airport hangar, AidData report says.  Vijay Kant Karna, executive chairperson at Center for Social Inclusion and Federalism (CESIF), says there is no aid component as it is 100 percent loan taken from the Chinese bank, so it is inappropriate to publicize it as aid from China.  “The only concession is that we do not have to pay the interest of 25 percent loans,so if we say it is a loan it gives another message to the public,” he adds.  Questions of viability A study conducted by CESIF observes that the airport is an example of the state driving a development project for the sake of political imagination, while muting concerns about commercial viability and corruption.  According to the report, Pokhara airport is not economically viable and CAAN “would be under pressure to make investments for Pokhara International Airport.” CAAN, as a regulatory agency, runs on the revenue generated from commercially viable projects and also bears the cost of construction and operation of commercially non-viable airports. It is not yet clear who is going to pay the gap between repayments and revenue for the airport. Even once the airport is constructed it will have significant technical shortcomings, limiting commercial viability.  According to the CESIF report, given the geography and climate of the region, the airport operating minima are problematic, limiting the operation of big aircraft. Questions about commercial viability and national interests also came to the fore when the Exim Bank of China insisted that an escrow account should be opened into which the CAAN would deposit the income generated from all its airports. The work over airport construction was thus delayed for months in early 2017 over the issue, the report says.  After intense negotiations, the Exim Bank issued a letter in April 2017, saying it had amended its earlier condition, allowing CAAN to deposit revenues generated by Pokhara International Airport. Jagadish Chandra Pokharel, former vice chairman of the National Planning Commission, says that the Pokhara International Airport’s actual cost was only $132m. In the research by CESIF, Pokharel further says, the airport could have been built at a cost of $100m.  “There are so many inconsistencies and irregularities to suggest Pokhara airport will become a burden to the country,” he says.  Pokharel’s opinion is echoed by a senior government official with direct knowledge of the developments regarding the airport.  He says senior Chinese contractors, in Dec 2017, had requested him to lobby to add several components to the airport like parking bays, promising they would get more loans from China. “Their intention was to boost their profit by increasing the costs of the airport, which would have also increased corruption,” says the official. He suspects that China could have long-term geo-strategic interests in the operation of the Pokhara International Airport. “If CAAN fails to pay the debt, the Chinese could take up operation of the airport, just like the Hambantota port in Sri Lanka.” Is China ready to convert loans into grants? It is certain that Pokhara International Airport cannot pay the loan to the Chinese bank.  That is why some Nepali politicians have started requesting the Chinese side to convert a 75 percent loan into a grant. But there have not been any negotiations between the two sides over the matter. This is likely to cause friction between Nepal and China.   Tourism sector awaits international flights With the construction of the international airport, there was an expectation that they would see a huge number of tourists. Many new hotels were built around the airport. People who were already involved in the hospitality industry expanded their investments. Almost more than half of tourism entrepreneurs took loans to expand their business for which they have been paying high interest. But their returns so far have been dismal.  Every day, they turn their heads up to the sky to count how many planes are landing in the city. “I always hope to host a number of guests in our hotel,” says Sita Kunwar, owner of a new hotel near the Pokhara International Airport Gate. She invested around Rs 20m to build the hotel, but now she is worried about paying off the loan.  Another hotel owner Bhuwan Bhandari shares a similar plight. With an assumption that the number of foreigners and business persons will pour in Pokhara once the airport comes into operation, he upgraded the hotel, but the visitor numbers to the city have not increased as expected. Bimal Karki also shifted from Kathmandu to Pokhara with the hope of setting up a hotel business. He built a hotel near the airport but now fears his investment could sink.  Considering the benefits of the international airport, 25 trekking agencies, almost a dozen travel agencies, and almost 100 new hotels have entered the tourism business in Pokhara. They now stare at an uncertain future. 

Midlaj Plywood, established in 2021 has started the export of plywood to India. A young company established by Rihan Miya, 22, got the export license a few months back.  Established with an investment of Rs 100m, the industry has exported plywood worth Rs 1m in the first month, however, Miya says, his company is building capacity of exporting plywood worth Rs 7m per month. “Export market is better than the local market but we have some hectic bureaucratic hurdles in the process,” says Miya. “I consider it a privilege to contribute to the growth of Nepal’s economy by generating foreign exchange through our exports.”