Nepal needs Rs 400b annual investment for double digit growth

Nepal needs Rs 400 billion investment every year to achieve the double digit growth continuously for another decade.
“At present, the investment stands at Rs 176 billion, including the private sector,” Binod Chaudhary, president of Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI) and the Constituent Assembly (CA) member, said adding that the increase in investment and vision, both is need of the hour.
The CNI is planning a major international investment summit in Kathmandu next year after the Economic Summit-2008.
However, it has postponed the Economic Summit that it had planned for August 14-16. Now the summit is scheduled for August 31 to September 2.
“The summit is postponed due to the election of the Prime Minister on Friday the date of summit and the participating CA members will be engaged in the electoral process,” he said adding that though CNI has already completed all the preparations for the summit, there was no alternative than to postpone the summit.
The objective of the summit is to help the CA to include economic agenda in the Constitution that is going to be written. “It is high time our leadership own economic agenda for the development of the country,” he added. "Political stability and writting a new Constitution are not the only challenges that Nepal faces today. Building a prosperous Nepal is more important.
"The three-day long CNI Economic Summit-2008 with the theme of ‘Rs 12,000 per month income for every Nepali — a national commitment’ will see a host of intelligentsia and experts. Various working papers on key issues like rapid economic growth and its associated issues, trends, constraints and impediments in selected sectors like labour relations, economicvision in the new Constituent will be discussed during the summit.
'Rs 12,000 per month income' is possible only if the GDP is above 10 per cent and CNI had since 2004 advocating a double-digit growth as an effective tool for addressing the socio-economic disparity.
"The summit will have various brainstorming sessions as various members of the CA including sectoral and functional experts and professionals, members of civil society and representatives of the private sector will actively participate in this summit,” Chaudhary said, adding that the Prime Minister might inaugurate the summit that will see six working papers.
“Nepal has a huge potential,” Tek Chandra Pokharel, senior entrepreneur, said adding that except hydropower, we also have various sectors like mines and minerals, and commercialisation of agriculture that could help generate employment and develop the country.