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After spending nearly double the estimated time and money, the 456MW Upper Tamakoshi hydropower project, Nepal’s biggest so far, is finally complete. The electricity it generates will be more than enough to meet the country’s wet season demand, and it will significantly reduce power imports from India in the dry season. Perhaps the best part of the project is that it was financed entirely by domestic investors.

Inaugurating it on July 6, Prime Minister KP Oli said Upper Tamakoshi had given the country greater confidence to undertake projects of national importance by utilizing its own human and financial resources. That is certainly so. Yet the project also offers some cautionary lessons. Its developers seem to have overlooked future hikes in the exchange rate for dollars—used to pay foreign suppliers and consultants—when coming up with the estimate of Rs 35 billion. If interest on the revised additional cost is to be factored in, the eventual bill would come to Rs 85 million.

By contrast, the delay in completing the project was less under their control. Supplies were hindered for many months after the 2015 earthquakes and the subsequent border blockade. Frequent floods and landslides also slowed down the project. Then came Covid-19 and the lockdowns. But, yes, more thought could have gone into choosing the contractors. For instance, the Indian contractor that was initially chosen did not have the expertise to carry out a key task. The developers had to appoint another contractor when 95 percent of the work had already been done. Domestic investors will feel confident, just as the prime minister said, only when their investment yields timely and expected returns.

The completion of Upper Tamakoshi is a huge milestone towards Nepal’s energy sufficiency. Soon, the country may discontinue importing electricity, and instead, export some, all-year-round. We hope Upper Tamakoshi is the final nail in the coffin of the dreaded load-shedding, and cheaper and more reliable electricity will spur economic growth. If we could also learn from its construction and better manage our future projects, the country will be well on its way to achieving its much-vaunted hydropower potential.

Cross-border trade through the Korala border crossing in Nepal’s Upper Mustang, which abuts China’s autonomous region of Tibet, remains halted amid the second wave of Covid-19 in Nepal. This has affected the export of pashmina, a local product of Upper Mustang, to Tibet, rue the locals.

Chinese authorities organize a cross-border trade fair twice a year, in June and August, for residents of Mustang to sell their products such as pashmina and yarsagumba. But the fairs, which were affected by the Covid-19 pandemic last year, have also been put off this year.

“Before the corona crisis, we could sell a kilo of pashmina fiber for Rs 7,000. Last year, it was difficult to sell it even at Rs 2,000. The situation is the same this year, but the state will not compensate us,” says Wangel Gurung, a resident of Choser.

The livestock business is the main source of income for most farmers in Lomanthang and Loghekar Damodarkund villages of Upper Mustang located at an altitude of 4,200 m above the sea level. Farmers of Upper Mustang have been rearing sheep and goats for centuries as the crop yields are not enough to sustain their livelihood throughout the year.

The people of Upper Mustang move to lower altitudes during the winter to trade their produce and involve themselves in animal husbandry in the rainy season.

Narbu Gurung, a livestock farmer of Lomanthang, says all trade has come to a standstill since the border was closed following the Covid-19 outbreak last year.

Upper Mustang farmers used to export around 10 truckloads of pashmina a year to Tibet.

However, with the border closure, they don’t have any other place to send their produce, which is used to make various garments by processing and extracting yarn. 

The Chinese side is closely monitoring the border checkpoint of Mustang due to the fear of importing Covid-19 from Nepal. It has urged its citizens not to go to border areas and Nepali border residents not to visit Korala.

Following the border closure, residents have been forced to ferry essentials via the Beni-Jomsom road. This is more expensive than buying essential items from Korala, they say, hoping the border crossing would be opened as soon as Covid-19 cases go down in Nepal.

Smart Telecom Private limited has recently filed a petition with the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology seeking a further extension on the Rs 6 billion in arrears it has to pay to the government. The private mobile network service provider, which has been unable to establish itself in the Nepali market, is asking for a further one-year extension. Smart Telecom has also submitted the same request to the Nepal Telecommunication Authority.

This is not the first time the company has failed to clear its arrears and got the payment deadline extended through lobbying. The NTA had decided to cancel Smart Telecom’s license two years ago for repeatedly failing to pay up. Despite the NTA’s decision, the Council of Ministers had stepped in to protect the company and decided to extend the payment deadline while also giving Smart Telecom the option of clearing its dues in installments.

In a September 2020 Cabinet decision, the deadline was extended by six more months. Back then, the NEA was given a three-point directive by the Ministry of Communications, which stated that if the company failed to pay its arrears in the next six months, the NTA could revoke its license and also confiscate its properties and assets.

“In case of non-payment of dues within the stipulated period, the authority will take necessary legal action to revoke the license and make appropriate arrangements for the continuity of service for the company’s customers,” the letter sent by the ministry to the NTA read. However, come February 2021, the Council of Ministers again extended the deadline till the end of the current fiscal year, i.e mid-July.

It has been learnt that despite repeated extensions and installment facility, Smart Telecom has failed to pay its liabilities to the government, accrued under various headings such as frequency fee and license renewal. According to the NTA payment plans, the company had to pay a frequency fee of Rs 598.86 million in the first installment, Rs 832.3 million in the second, Rs 774 million in the third, Rs 715.6 million in the fourth, and Rs 657.2 million in the fifth. Besides the set installments, Smart Telecom also has to pay another Rs 1.25 billion in license renewal fees.

Family time: A group of rhesus monkeys minding their own business inside the Pashupatinath Temple premises in Kathmandu. The Hindu temple, home to hundreds of these monkeys, has been shut down for visitors for the past couple of months due to Covid-19 restrictions. As a result, the primates who usually depend on visitors for food are starving. The locals are also complaining of frequent monkey attacks as they get desperate for food | Pratik Rayamajhi

The CPN-UML Standing Committee’s June 30 decision to revive the party’s central committee that existed before the 16 May 2018 merger with CPN (Maoist Center) is a welcome step. ApEx has always advocated for intra-party cohesion in Nepal’s main democratic forces, and if the two factions of the UML could someone reunite, it would be wonderful news. Nepali polity is best served by having two or three strong political forces that fight along ideological lines; purely personal ambition-driven politics has done much to corrupt Nepali politics over the years. 

Yet the June 30 decision may not be enough to interest disgruntled senior UML leaders like Madhav Kumar Nepal and Jhala Nath Khala who are not ready to trust Prime Minister and UML Chairman KP Oli easily again. They think this is just another ploy of PM Oli to prolong his tenure. If the Supreme Court rules in Oli’s favor again, they think he will not think twice about ditching them again. 

Hence the onus is on Oli to prove he is ready to accommodate the concerns of the rival faction. Chief among these is their old gripe that Oli seldom consults them on important matters, for instance in his decision to bring in a faction of the JSPN into the federal government or in his appointment in vital constitutional organs. They would also like to see Oli share more power with them, both in the party as well as in the government. 

Again, going into the next elections, ideally, Nepal should have no more than three or four main political actors who are vigorously competing for votes. Having such strong actors will help consolidate the main agendas and prevent the country from slipping back into the kind of dirty horse-trading that characterized the post-1990 national politics. In fact, the new constitution has specific provisions to protect against such an outcome. But constitutional provisions are only as good as those implementing them. We hope the prime minister has this time acted in good faith and he is serious about consolidating his party and thereby the national polity. 

That time of the year: Local farmers of Khokana, Lalitpur start planting paddy after heavy rainfall in Kathmandu valley in the second week of June. Farmers across the country are preparing to plant rice with the monsoon's onset | Sunita Dangol

Just over a decade ago, the Civil Group was one of the biggest names in the Nepali corporate world. Group chairman Ichchha Raj Tamang Chairman rode the real estate bubble between the late 2000s and mid-2010 and profited handsomely. A qualified engineer and capable entrepreneur, Tamang became one of the pioneers of housing projects in Nepal. He then entered the banking sector.

Civil Homes, Civil Mall, Civil Bank, Civil Saving and Credit Cooperative, among two-dozen ventures, comprise the Civil Group. But the success story of Tamang turned sour as quickly as he had risen to fame, with multiple accusations of financial discrepancies and unscrupulous business practices.

Early 2020 saw the Department of Money Laundering Investigation initiate a probe into Tamang after financial transactions exceeding the given limit were made through his bank account. Tamang, also the chairperson of Civil Bank, along with his partner Keshav Lal Shrestha, had allegedly transferred more than Rs 1 billion from the account maintained by Civil Hotels at Civil Bank to the account of Civil Apartments in the same bank, all owned and operated by Tamang.

The department had also asked Civil Bank’s clarification on why it had not reported suspicions over those transactions to Nepal Rastra Bank. The result of the investigation is yet to be made public. When ApEx inquired about it with the department, we got the reply that “no information on this case can be divulged now”.

Just before the Civil Bank controversy, which lost the bank considerable goodwill, Civil Group’s Pokhara-based Civil Saving and Credit Cooperative also declared it was facing bankruptcy after mass withdrawals following reports of its impending collapse. The cooperative had overextended with its ambitious investments in real estate, hotel and hydropower, without earning the trust of account holders. It had invested around 90 percent of its deposits totalling Rs 7.5 billion in the realty business operated by the group.

Around the same time, Tamang also had a controversial fallout with his business partner Lal Kaji Gurung, a major shareholder in Civil Cooperative and also a partner in Civil Mall. This financial dispute led to court cases, further engulfing the group in controversy.

As we near the business end of the Euro Cup and Copa America football tournaments, it is worth taking stock of our own men’s national team. As our interview this week with the most decorated Nepali footballer Biraj Maharjan, who has just retired from international football, suggests, there is room for optimism.

Only this May, Nepal won the Three Nations Cup it hosted. Then, to add to the excitement, Kuwait’s Abdullah Al Mutairi, a pro-licensed FIFA coach, was appointed the national team’s head coach. The team exceeded expectations at the recent World Cup qualifiers, even beating Chinese Taipei 2-0, which in turn helped Nepal make it to the next round of Asian Cup qualifiers.

One of the big disadvantages of Nepali players when playing stronger international opponents over the years has been their poor fitness. They didn’t eat the right diet, nor was their physical training up to international standards. Thankfully, things are changing. The national team as well as all top-tier Nepali clubs these days have trained dieticians and physical-training experts in their ranks to boost player fitness. Learning from the fitness regimens of international football stars, the Nepali players themselves have realized the importance of cardio and weight training. We can thus expect the team to only get fitter with time.

The new FIFA-certified coach will also enhance the tactical side of the national side’s game. As the players have themselves said, the start this year of the Nepal Super League, a franchise-based club tournament, will enhance their professionalism and make them more used to playing against quality international players. Such tournaments with corporate sponsors will also make them financially independent, allowing them to completely focus on football.

At last, the All Nepal Football Association (ANFA), the country’s football governing body, seems to have realized the importance of having a long-term vision. As discussed above, its new focus is on the seemingly small things that will collectively make a big difference a decade down the road. But it has to keep at it. Hopefully, in a generation, Nepalis will get to see their national team compete at the highest levels abroad, in Asia if not in the world.