Only 11.58 percent of capital budget utilized in five months

The government has managed to utilize just 11.58 percent of its capital budget in the first five months of the current fiscal year.

According to the Financial Comptroller General Office, only Rs 40.8bn of the Rs 352bn allocated for capital expenditure has been spent between mid-July and mid-December.

Low capital expenditure has long been a persistent issue for Nepal, with an average utilization of just 60 percent over the past four years. In 2023/24, the government spent only 63.47 percent of the capital budget. Of the Rs 302bn allocated for capital spending in 2023/24, government offices were successful in spending only Rs 191.73bn.

As of mid-December, no ministry has surpassed 17 percent in capital spending. This reflects the inability of government agencies to effectively execute their budgets.

The Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies recorded the lowest spending, utilizing just 1.1 percent of its Rs 2.1bn allocation. The ministry has been able to spend only Rs 23.2m till mid-December. Officials of the ministry have attributed the dismal progress to delays in releasing payments for completed projects.

On the other hand, the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport led capital expenditure among ministries, spending 16.56 percent of its Rs 143.79bn budget. The development-intensive ministry has spent Rs 23.69bn between mid-July and mid-December.

The Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation was next with 16.02 percent capital budget utilization. The ministry spent Rs 108.7m out of Rs 678.8m capital budget allocated in the current fiscal year.   

Capital spending by the Ministry of Finance stood at 7.05 percent of its Rs 13.79bn capital budget allocated for 2024/25. The ministry was successful in spending Rs 972.4m till mid-December..

The Ministry of Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation performed relatively better in capital expenditure, spending Rs 5.25bn (14.52 percent) of its Rs 36.18bn allocation.

Likewise, the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development utilized 13.81 percent of its Rs 3.78bn budget, spending Rs 521.8m in the first five months of the current fiscal year.

The Ministry of Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation achieved 8.16 percent capital budget spending progress over the first five months of 2024/25. Out of Rs 2.75bn allocated, the ministry was successful in spending Rs 224m by mid-December.

The Ministry of Urban Development managed to spend just 6.62 percent of its Rs 63.18bn budget, or Rs 4.18bn, in the review period.