Similarly, the power transmission project of the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) Nepal has the least progress. Only 3.66 percent of physical progress has been made till mid-January in this project. MCA Nepal has undertaken works related to the acquisition of land, design, study, and survey of the project for the current fiscal year.
The MoF, in the mid-term review of the budget, has said 18 percent of the allocated budget has been spent on Pushpalal Highway, 42.60 percent on Postal Highway, 39 percent on Kosi Corridor, and 22.71 percent on Kali Gandaki Corridor in the first half of this fiscal year. The budget spending in Karnali Corridor is 9 percent, while Metro Rail and Monorail Development Project has utilized 22 percent. The much talked about Kathmandu-Terai Expressway is yet to expedite its works as only 9.11 percent has been spent in this fiscal. Meanwhile, Budhi Gandaki Reservoir Project has spent only 15.86 percent of the allocated budget. The MoF report shows none of the four irrigation projects, namely Babai, Mahakali, Sikta, and Ranijamara, have budget utilization above 50 percent in the first half of this fiscal. These 21 projects were given the status of 'national pride' with a belief that their construction will help the economic and social transformation of the country. As of now, the government has identified four irrigation projects, three hydropower projects, three international airports, six road projects, an electric railway project, a drinking water project, two projects aimed at promoting the holy sites of Pashupati and Lumbini, and an environmental conservation project as national pride project. But the start of the construction of many of these projects is yet to see the light of day. The construction of the Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower Project and Gautam Budh International Airport was completed in the last fiscal year while that of Pokhara Regional International Airport was completed in the current fiscal year. According to MoF, the project implementation has not been effective due to the absence of separate legal provisions and standards regarding project selection and implementation. No clear standards have been prepared to maintain operational coordination with the provincial and local levels in terms of implementing projects of national pride. The concept of the ‘national pride project’ was first introduced in 2012. Yet, the government still has not framed any clear-cut criteria for the selection of national pride projects. As a result, the label of ‘national pride’ is put on projects through Cabinet decisions, which many say, is an ad-hoc process. MoF officials say the execution of national pride projects have been suffered due to delays in land acquisition, disputes between project officials and locals over compensation proposed by the government for land that needs to be acquired, unclear relocation and resettlement strategies, and lack of coordination among authorities concerned. Economists and development experts say a clear legal arrangement should be created and a separate law should be formulated to bring effectiveness in the selection and implementation of national pride and large projects of strategic importance. MoF is said to be working to create criteria for national pride projects. Under this, a project will be announced as the 'project of national pride' only after the finalization of the detailed project report, geological study, and regional balance analysis.
