Nepal Infrastructure Summit (NIS) 2014, organized by CNI in collaboration with Government of Nepal and YCNC, with the theme “Accelerating Investment in Infrastructure” was first ever summit organized of its kind in Nepal. The Summit was successful as it was able to deliver high attendance, important and high-rated keynote speech, excellent speakers and panelists who knew their subject, well facilitated dialogue sessions, a great venue for networking and the presence of aspiring young participants.

The Summit provided a platform for exchange of relevant experience in selected topics including:

  1. Outlook and Opportunities
  2. Sustainable Infrastructure Development for Socio-Economic Growth
  3. Investment Climate in Nepal
  4. Infrastructure Financing Mechanisms
  5. Enabling Policy Initiatives

Speakers and participants at the Nepal Investment Summit 2014 confirmed that Nepal desperately needs to upgrade its infrastructure and institutions that support infrastructure development and investment. They identified the need for:

  • Stronger mechanisms for the private sector to work with GoN.
  • Better mechanisms for allowing private investment and financing for highways, railways, airports, urban infrastructure and transmission lines.
  • A more transparent approval process for foreign direct investment.
  • Better mechanisms for technology transfer for increasing productivity and efficiency.
  • Better implementation of policy and regulations, which is inefficient and often uncertain.
  • Streamlining of the bureaucratic decision-making and procurement process, along with better planning, prioritizing and categorizing of infrastructure projects, with more meaningful consultations from the private sector.
  • Promotion of healthy competition among private sector players involved in infrastructure development.

Accordingly, CNI has also been focusing on the resilience of the infrastructure of the country as the result of which CNI came out with a policy document of “Construction of Eco-Friendly Linear Infrastructure” with the assistance WWF Nepal. In nutshell, after the NIS 2014, the activities performed were:

  • Formation and effective operationalization of Infrastructure Cell in CNI.
  • Follow up workshops/seminars.
    • Workshop on “Infrastructure Financing- Opportunities and Challenges”.
    • Series of workshop on “Public-Private Partnerships”.
    • Workshop on financing of storage-based hydroelectricity projects
  • Lobby on various issues:
    • Establishment of Infrastructure Development Bank.
    • Establishment of Project banks/Project Readiness.
    • Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Centre.
    • Other legal and institutional issues.