Finance Minister vows to resume construction of Chandragiri-Chitlang section of Ganeshman Singh Highway soon

 Finance Minister Janardan Sharma has vowed to resume the construction of Chandragiri-Chitlang section of Ganeshman Singh Highway soon.

Addressing a festival celebration reception here in Kathmandu today, Sharma said that he had heard that stone supplies were taking place from the section, and if true, such act will be instantly suspended and road construction would be resumed. "I have heard that the ‘stone quarry business’ is taking place along the Chandragiri-Chitlang section of Ganeshman Singh Highway, which I will stopped immediately," he said, promising to do his best for the development of Chandragiri as well. "The construction of a bus park and a community hospital is also in plan," he said, admmitting to materialise the dream of Sankhadhar Sakhwa, who had freed the people from the debt and commenced the era of Nepal Sambat.

The campaign that Sakhwa had started 1142 years ago is yet to be completed, the minister claimed, adding that people are yet to be liberated from the vicious cycle of poverty and to support them to be self-sufficient, according to the Finance Minister.

The then Krishna Prasad Bhattarai-led government had announced Sankhadhar Sakhwa as the national hero and the Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’-led government had recognised the Nepal Sambat as the national calendar.

Japan hands over excavator to Tukche village

An official of the Embassy of Japan handed over an excavator valued at about Rs 9.3 million to Ward No 1, Tukche Village, Thasang Rural Municipality, in Mustang District.
At the handover ceremony, second secretary of the Embassy of Japan in Kathmandu Yoshiki Sando said that the excavator will be used effectively for emergencies and temporary counter-measures to control erosion.
Tukche village is located on the banks of the Kali Gandaki River and the people there have to deal with large volumes of water from snowmelt that erodes the river banks. The village is prone to erosion and people have lost their fields and have had to relocate because of the inability to tame flood water.
The Embassy of Japan believes that the project can contribute towards land conservation around Tukche, a press note issued by the Japanese Embassy in Kathmandu reads. “It also believes that the assistance will contribute towards further strengthening the bilateral relationship between Japan and Nepal.”

FCAN to protest against amended procurement law

The Federation of Contractors’ Associations of Nepal (FCAN) is protesting against the amended procurement law.
Organising a press meet here today senior vice president of FCAN Nicholas Pandey said that the contractors will take to the streets from November 25, if the government did not address their ‘genuine’ concerns. FCAN is open to sorting out the disputes through dialogue, though we are taking to street, if our demands are not met, he added.
Expressing reservations against some of the provisions in Public Procurement Regulations (eighth amendment)-2019, Pandey said that there are discriminatory provisions in the regulations that need to be revised. “According to the newly amended regulations, the contractor company will be penalized, if any project is not completed on time,” he said, adding that it has, however, remained silent on the action against concerned government officials and other stakeholders. “Based on our experience, the prime reason for delay in any project is caused by the government staffers and the lengthy process for approving various documents, not to mention corruption at every level.”
Though there is a need to change the rules in a timely manner to ensure quality of works, he said, frequently changing any regulation for someone’s vested interests puts domestic contractors at a disadvantage.
The timely completion of any project also depends on cooperation and coordination among other concerned stakeholders including government officials, engineers and locals, he said, adding that the regulations has largely ignored this fact and needs to be amended.
Likewise, FCAN has also claimed that in altering the procurement regulations, the government has given undue advantage to foreign contractors in the tender process. “The new regulations curb the opportunities for domestic contractors as various mega projects are being launched across the country.”
Immediate past president of FCAN Bishnubhai Shrestha, on the occasion, alleged that the banks and financial institutions seek commission of up to 1.4 per cent of bid amount from the contractors for preparing bank guarantee documents.

Kalanki-Maharajgunj section of Ring Road expansion to start from January

China will start the second phase of Ring Road expansion works from January, according to the head of Ring Road Expansion Project Amrit Mani Rimal.
The Department of Roads (DoR) is currently clearing the site along the Kalanki-Maharajgunj section of the Ring Road to make it easy for construction that is aimed at easing traffic congestion across the Kathmandu valley.
After the site clearance, the Chinese government will start the construction by appointing a contractor as it is funded through Chinese assistance.
The site clearance has been started and is expected to be completed by December at a total cost of Rs 1 billion, he said, adding that trees are being cut and relocation of electricity poles, drinking water pipes, sewage lines and other infrastructure is also being carried out. “Altogether over 2,060 trees will be cut in the Kalanki to Maharajgunj section.”
Relocation of electricity poles, sewage lines and drinking water pipes are ongoing as the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) and Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani Ltd (KUKL) have started to remove their respective structures lying on the right of way of the road.
“After the department clears the site by December, the Chinese contractor company will mobilise the necessary manpower and equipment for construction from January,” Rimal added, “Though, the department is currently facing some problems in clearing the sites in Swayambhu, Thulo Bharyang and Maharajgunj as the locals are creating disturbances.”
The first phase of the Ring Road construction – from Koteshwor to Kalanki, which was formally handed over to the government last year – is, though, yet to be completed and is still under criticism for its design, the government had approved the detailed engineering design and detailed project report for execution of the project.
According to the design, the 8.2-km-long stretch will be widened to 60 metres and will comprise an eight-lane road along with additional six-metre-wide lanes on both sides of the road for easy pedestrian movement. The road stretch will be divided by the divider for safety.
“The department has improved the design of the Kalanki-Maharajgunj section compared to the Koteshwor-Kalanki section due to much criticism regarding pedestrian safety,” Rimal said, adding that two underpasses, a flyover and 10 overhead bridges will be built along Kalanki-Maharajgunj section.

New WTO indicator finds services trade weakening

World trade in commercial services lost momentum through the second quarter of 2019 according to the WTO’s new Services Trade Barometer, launched today. The index’s reading of 98.4 is below the baseline value of 100, suggesting that services trade continued to face strong headwinds leading into the second half of the year.
The barometer is part of the WTO's efforts to develop new insights into services trade. Its June reading indicates a further weakening after services trade growth slowed during the first quarter of 2019. For comparison, during a recent peak in July 2018, the barometer registered 103.1.
Declines in most of the Services Trade Barometer's component indices drove the second quarter softening, as they signalled a broad loss of momentum across various services sectors. The passenger air travel index (95.6), construction index (97), and global services Purchasing Managers' Index (97.2) all fell further below trend in June. The financial services index (99.7) also dipped, finishing slightly below trend. The index for information and communication technology services (100.3), meanwhile, fell from well above trend in mid-2018 to on-trend in June. In contrast, the container shipping index (100.8) was slightly above trend and rising in June, following a multi-month slowdown.
Despite the overall loss of momentum since the start of 2019, services trade has generally held up better than goods trade since the latter is more directly affected by recent trade tensions. The importance of services trade to the global economy will be explored in greater depth in the forthcoming World Trade Report, slated for release on October 9.
The Services Trade Barometer – which will be released two times per year – highlights turning points and changing patterns in world services trade. Unlike its counterpart for goods, the fluctuations registered by the services indicator coincide with movements in actual trade flows, rather than anticipating them. Readings of 100 indicate growth in line with medium-term trends. Readings greater than 100 suggest above-trend growth while those below 100 indicate the opposite.

Government opens own construction company

Backtracking the government policy of keeping itself distance from business, the KP Sharma Oli-led government has opened its own construction company ‘Nepal Infrastructure Construction Company’ (NICC).
The government had established National Construction Company Nepal (NCCN) in 1961 but since it faced continuous losses, the government closed it down in 2010. The private sector claimed that the government move – that suited 5 decades ago – will promote corruption as most of the government owned corporations have been in red since long.
The government has registered ‘Nepal Infrastructure Construction Company at the Office of the Company Registrar saying that the private construction companies have been continuously causing delays in public construction works citing various reasons. But the move – some 50 years older – of the then King Mahendra era, has surprised the private sector as the Constitution of Nepal has accepted the private sector as the growth engine of the economy. But the government claimed that the establishment of its own construction company will force the private construction companies to be more diligent and accelerate development works. “The NICC will work in tunnel construction and large size construction activities, including all types of government construction works,” the government claimed, adding that the company with authorised capital of Rs 10 billion and issued capital worth Rs 3 billion has Finance Ministry, Energy Ministry, Physical Infrastructure and Transport Ministry and Urban Development Ministry are the institutional shareholders of NICC with 7.5 million shares.
The government-owned construction company with executive rights to execute major construction works will construct roads, airports, fast track roads, highways, dry ports, ports, canals, pipelines, substations and transmission lines, the ministry added.
The NICC will also conduct studies related to the engineering aspects of roads, airports, fast track roads, highways, dry ports, ports, canals, pipelines, substations and transmission lines including their pre-feasibility, feasibility, investigation, design, management, detailed feasibility study, detailed project report and environment impact assessment.
Though, the government has claimed that the NICC has not been established to compete with the private sector and focus on accelerating the government initiated projects, the private sector suspects that it will further delay infrastructure projects and promote corruption in the construction sector.
The company will have seven directors in its board – 3 founding members from the Energy, Physical Infrastructure and Urban Development Ministries and 4 representatives from Industry, Commerce and Supplies; Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs and Drinking Water Ministries – apart from employees hired through open competition by the government.

National employment summit concludes

Lack of skilled manpower in the construction sector has led the country's construction companies to hire labourers from India even after the government move to make it mandatory for workers of any sector to acquire a Permanent Account Number (PAN).
Registration of employees with the social security fund is also a challenge for the construction sector, said secretary general of the Federation of Contractors' Association of Nepal – during the National Labor and Employment Conference-2019 – Rosan Dahal.
Asking the entrepreneurs to spend most of their time in developing products, providing skills to the staff, and finding potential markets – during a panel session on ‘Work Culture and Dignity of Labour’, at the conference – he said that ensuring occupational, health, and safety facilities for workers and staffs can help in developing good work culture.
The entrepreneurs, on the occasion, also asked the government to help them find local raw material to manufacture Nepali products with economy of scale, in an organised way. The conference – organised by the government with an objective to identifying opportunities and gaps for employment creation and developing dialogue led consensus towards tackling pertinent labour and employment issues in Nepal – concluded today.
The founder of a startup cotton mill, in another session of the conference, 'Youth Employment in Nepal', Prasanna Basnet, said that the government should implement the programme announced in the budget. The discussion also focused on lack of access to resources for the entrepreneurs from the rural areas.
The two-day conference with a good participation from startup founders, entrepreneurs out of Kathmandu, students and representatives of trade unions, few representatives from the private sector and almost none from multinationals participated in the event, also discussed on utilisation of the knowledge and skills from returnee migrants were also discussed during the conference.

Nepali team leaves for Beijing to discuss cross-border railway links

A Nepali team today left for Beijing – on the invitation of the government of China – for consultation on the construction of cross border railway including preparing the detailed project report (DPR) of the project.
Secretary at the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport Devendra Karki is leading the Nepali team that has joint-secretary Gopal Prasad Sigdel, director-general of the Department of Railways Balram Mishra, spokesperson Aman Chitrakar and the representatives of the Finance Ministry, Foreign Ministry and the Nepali Embassy in Beijing. This will be the fourth railway meeting between Nepal and China.
The Nepali delegation will also have bilateral discussions with the office-bearers of the National Railway Authority of China, apart from participating in the Nepal-China Railway Cooperation Committee’s meeting in Beijing.
According to Karki, the Chinese and Nepali officials will dwell on topics including investment and construction modality. Nepal and China had agreed to move forward the process of railway construction during the official visit of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on June 19-24, 2018.
It has been long since Beijing has submitted the preliminary study report – prepared by the Chinese technical team – on the railway project to Nepal. “The report has paved the way for carrying out further home work regarding the modality and the modus operandi for the construction of this railway,” according to the Department of Railways.
According to the preliminary study, Kathmandu-Kerung railway will be 80-km with construction period of nine years at estimated cost of approximately Rs 300 billion, according to the department.
The proposed railway – under the China’ Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) – linking Kerung city in southern Tibet to Nepal’s capital Kathmandu, entering the country in Rasuwa district will eventually go to India making Nepal a transit country. However, the proposed railway links between Nepal and China have started a debate in Nepal with many dreaming of cheaper goods and a geostrategic balance to India, whereas others claiming it a pipedream of KP Oli government, which used it as a election winning strategy, and a debt trap for Nepal. However, the Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Hou Yanqi, recently, has tried to allay fears clarifying that the BRI is not a ‘debt trap’ that some countries may fall into, but an ‘economic pie’ that benefits the local population.
The pre-feasibility study report prepared by China in late 2018 accepts that the project is an extremely hard one but not impossible. “Technically it will be one of the world’s toughest railways to construct,” according to the report that has listed six extremes including topography, weather, hydrology and tectonics making the project hugely challenging.
About 98 per cent of the railway on the Nepal side will be in tunnels and on bridges according to the report that has proposed about five stopovers. Tracks will need to be built on steep terrain, as the railway climbs from an altitude of 1,400 metres in Kathmandu to about 4,000 metres in Tibet. The proposed route also cuts through the mountains near a major fault line – where the Indian plate meets the Eurasian plate to form the Himalayas – so the area is very susceptible to earthquakes.
Preliminary estimates of the Kerung-Kathmandu railway project – listed as one of the 64 to be considered under China’s BRI during the second Belt and Road Forum in Beijing in April – comes to around 38 billion yuan ($5.5 billion). The railway would be 170-km long from Tibet to Kathmandu. Although only one third of the total length falls on the Nepal side, it would account for almost half of the costs due to the extreme geology and climate.
The Chinese do not seem in a rush as the Chinese railway line from Shigatse needs to arrive at Kerung, which is only expected to happen by 2025, before it will be linked to Kathmandu and then Birgunj, and Pokhara. Both the sides – in Beijing – will also discuss a feasibility study for the Kathmandu-Pokhara railway, over which a joint team of Nepali and Chinese technicians had conducted a field visit last December. Nepal is seeking a grant from China to construct the railway, whereas China has not been very enthusiastic about it, the Nepali delegation added.
Likewise, the government is currently studying another railway project, the east-west railway planned in the southern plains. A new 34-km railway from the Indian state of Bihar to Nepal is due to start running in a few months but the government will have to hire a train driver from India and other technicians to operate its first modern rail.
India has submitted a ‘pre-engineering and traffic survey report’ for the Raxaul-Kathmandu railway last month. Nepal and India had signed an agreement to conduct a survey on connecting Kathmandu with the Indian town of Raxaul in Bihar during the fourth BIMSTEC summit, held in Kathmandu last August.  Konkan Railway Corporation Limited – owned by the Indian government – had been tasked with preparing the report.
According to the Indian report, there are two alternatives – some 200-km of tracks with a gradient of one per cent, the same as the Indian rail network; or 135-km of tracks at a gradient of 1.5 per cent. The survey has also suggested the construction of 40-km to 50-km of underground tunnels.
Nepal and India, however, still have differences over the gauge – the width – of the railway track. The Indian side has based its survey report on a broad gauge while Nepali technicians prefer a standard gauge as China generally uses a standard gauge in its railways and it will be easier to connect both the railway lines in future.

FCAN objects to Public Procurement Regulations

Federation of Contractors’ Associations of Nepal (FCAN) has objected to some points of Public Procurement Regulations (Sixth Amendment)-2075, recently issued by the government.
The federation has objected to some clauses of the Regulation, saying it would displace domestic entrepreneurs as it has given priority to foreign entrepreneurs, according to a press release issued by FCAN.
The release issued by FCAN general secretary Roshan Dahal reads that the government lost the opportunity of formulating construction-friendly acts. “The government has issued the Regulations against the suggestions of the FCAN and is trying to finish the domestic contractors,” it reads, adding that the goal, of ‘Prosperous Nepal, Happy Nepali’, could not be achieved due to such Regulations. Dahal said that the FCAN would be compelled to protest against the Regulations.

Low bidding makes construction sector infamous, quality questioned

Low bidding has made construction sector bad name and the quality has also been questioned, according to president of Federation of Contractors’ Association Nepal (FCAN) Rabi Singh.
The construction sector has been denigrated because of a rising trend of working at low bidding, he said, asking construction entrepreneurs to stop doing business with those contractors who are willing to work at low rates. "Quality of work is compromised when working for cheap."
"Low bidding also affects the project completion timeline," he said addressing the sixth district convention of contractors at Chautara. The convention concluded today.
Singh also admitting that there are some weaknesses in the construction sector asked the concerned authorities not to sign any project at extremely low rates. "The delayed budget finalisation by the government has hampered project works, which has caused repeated failures in meeting project deadlines," he said, adding that the contractors are compelled to halt work because of delayed budget finalisation, and the projects are delayed. He also asked for construction sector-friendly public purchase law.
“Contracts up to Rs 50 million must be handed to local level contractors, while contracts exceeding this amount but less than Rs 150 million must be given to provincial level contractors,” Singh said, adding that contracts exceeding Rs 150 million must be given to large-scale contractors. "Likewise, both the international and national contractors must be given the right to handle contracts over Rs 1 billion."

Ex-minister Pandey accused of embezzling billions

The Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) today filed a corruption case at the Special Court against 21 persons – including former minister and chairman of the Kalika Construction Bikram Pandey – accusing them of embezzling Rs 8.32 billion in the course of the construction of main canal of Sikta irrigation project, a national pride project.
They have been charged with using faulty design, substandard construction and repeated collapses of the main canal of the national pride project Sikta.
CIAA spokesperson Rameshwor Dangal confirming that the anti-graft body has filed corruption cases against former minister and chairman of the Kalika Construction, Bikram Pandey after a quality test found problems in the works. "The CIAA has charged with corruption on 20 others – along with Pandey – including government officials and consultants involved in the Sikta Irrigation Project," he said, adding that the anti graft body has lately focussed on irregularities in development project implementation. "Those indicted by CIAA are project chiefs Sarva Dev Prasad, Saroj Chandra Pandit, Dilip Bahadur Karki, and Ramesh Basnet; nine senior divisional engineers; engineers with the Irrigation Department Uddhav Raj Chaulagain, and managing director of the project consultant ERMC-ITECO Nepal JV."
The CIAA has sought to recover Rs 2.13 billion as embezzled amount from Pandey, whose Kalika Construction won the contract of building the main canal of the multi-billion-rupee Sikta Irrigation Project that aims at irrigating 80 per cent of arable land in Banke district. However, the quality of works at the project has been questioned after repeated collapses of the main canal. The main canal was heavily damaged at different sections of a 5-km segment in June 2016 and July 2018. When the newly built channel was first tested in June 2016, it collapsed at multiple sections. Despite repair, it broke in July again during another test.
The CIAA came into action after a government probe panel formed on August 10 submitted the report stating that repeated collapses of the main canal were due to the failure to spot dissoluble soil in the designing phase.
The report prepared by the panel – led by joint-secretary at the Energy Ministry Sushi Chandra Tiwari – had stated that consultants, while designing the project, failed to carry out a special soil test, which led to a fragile canal. The panel reported that the detailed project report prepared by the consultant said nothing about the presence of the dissoluble soil in the area where the canal collapsed.
The panel’s report blamed the dispersive soil for the repeated collapse of the main canal. The canal was built on such soil because the feasibility studies did not mention anything about that, according to the report.
According to the CIAA chargesheet, most structures of the project’s canal section crumbled and the huge investment made in the project proved to be a waste of money, provisions to ensure quality work were not incorporated in the contract as it was signed in haste with the intent of committing corruption, authorities okayed wrong design and incorporated incomplete, ambiguous provisions in the contract without going through the reports prepared in the past on the project, those responsible for construction of the project did not conduct even the quality tests stated in the contract, provisions that could ensure quality work in construction of the embankment of the main canal were overlooked, and the joint in concrete lining was substandard, apart from the main canal that was supposed to withstand the current of 50 cubic metres per second could not withstand lower volume of water.
The Office of the Auditor General – in its 55th annual report – has also stated that despite clear presence of dissoluble soil on the surface, its identification, analysis and treatment were not conducted before constructing the canal. Due to the glitches, construction of the project has been delayed and overall cost shot up. When the project was initiated in 2005-06, it was supposed to be completed by 2014-15 at an estimated cost of Rs 12.8 billion.
Officials now say the project may not be completed before 2019-20. By the time it is fully operational, the project cost is expected to shoot to Rs 25.02 billion.
This is the second instance in the last two months of a leading construction firm being charged by the anti-graft body with corruption. The CIAA on October 6 had filed a corruption case against Pappu Construction owner Hari Narayan Rauniyar and his son Sumit Rauniyar for building a substandard bridge over the Babai river in Jabbighat, Bardiya.

7th property expo to kick off on June 15

The 7th edition of NLHDA Property Expo 2018 is going to kick off on June 15 at Bhrikutimandap in Kathmandu.
The five-day expo organised by Nepal Housing and Land Developers Association (NLHDA) – the apex body of housing and land developers in Nepal – is a one-stop solution for the entire eco-system of housing and land development sector. The event will also focus on housing sectors including commercial and business property, architecture, construction, building, engineering, habitat environment, said the organiser that is focusing on real estate market and home buyers.
The association said that investment in housing accounts for 15 per cent to 35 per cent of the country’s total investment. It is also estimated that more than Rs 400 billion has now been invested in real estate. But the housing market has suffered a lot after the devastating earthquake in 2015.
By 2023, 900,000 new construction projects will be required to meet the demand for 1,364,000 homes nationally, the association claimed, adding that Increasing the number of municipalities from 58 in 2011 to 217 to 2016 has fuelled rapid growth of urbanisation. "Industry experts agree that Kathmandu valley accounts for 42 per cent of the organised real estate sector and that the present annual national demand for houses and apartments is around 140,000 units, whereas Nepal is only able to construct 25,000 units per year. The housing construction has been increasing by 20 per cent to 30 per cent annually."
The Property Expo will host about 150 exhibitors covering an exhibition area of about 6,000 sq-metres both indoors and outdoors.
The expo will bring together home buyers, land plot buyers; commercial premise buyers and tenants, real estate agents and brokers, engineers, architects, town planners, environment and landscape consultants.
Similarly, interior designers, renovation designers and contractors, building material suppliers and distributors, construction equipment producers and dealers, construction contractors and managers, builders and property developers, property and facility managers, plumbers, electricians and lighting professionals will gather in a single platform, the organiser said.

UN Habitat introduces three-year green homes project

The UN Habitat has started a three-year-long Green Homes Project with the financial support of the European Union (EU).
The project aims at promoting sustainable housing in Nepal and has emphasised on Green Homes building practice, as pollution as well as causes of climate change, have increased while constructing buildings in traditional way.
It is indispensible to implement the Green Homes Programme as it is eco-friendly and cheaper, according to UN Habitat.

Secretary at the Ministry of Urban Development Kishor Thapa, ambassador and head of European Union (EU) Delegation to Nepal Alexander Spachis, joint secretary at the Ministry Suresh Acharya, regional technical advisor of UN-Habitat Bhushan Tuladhar, director general of the Department of Urban Development and Building Construction Mahendra Subba, UN Habitat Programme Manager for Nepal Padma Sundar Joshi and coordinator of Urban Planning under Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) Om Rajbhandari jointly inaugurated the project here today.

"The concept of green homes that comes up in the global level should be understood in the local level and campaigns should be run in the urban areas regarding the green homes,” Thapa said, during the inauguration.
EU has assured to help the government to address one of the important issues incorporated in the National Shelter Policy, 2012.
“We believe the effort will contribute to Nepal becoming a better and healthier place to live in, in line with the proposal for an internal EU Environment Action Programme 2020,” said Spachis, on the occasion.
According to Subba the government has made a compulsory provision that persons, who build houses as per the National Shelter Policy should plant at least one tree to promote Green Homes Project.
There are 5.4 million residential houses in Nepal and the country will need additional one million houses within 2020. Housing sector has significant contribution to urban economies and a total of 18 per cent urban employment in Nepal is contributed by construction industries.
The EU has provided around 1.015 million Euro for the implementation of the Green Homes Project.

Kathmandu valley houses more vulnerable

Most of the houses in urban Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur districts are too vulnerable to earthquake, according to the experts.
"Most of houses or housings have not followed good construction practices and materials, they said during an interaction here in the Valley.
The construction of houses have not followed basic norms of Building Construction Standard putting the lives of thousands at risk, said senior engineer at the Department of Building Construction of Kathmandu Metropolis Dr Uttar Kumar Regmi.
He blamed the low quality construction materials that have been used for the increasing risk. "Nepal Bureau of Standard and Meteorology doubts on the quality of construction materials," Regmi said, adding that cement and steel manufacturers have been producing low quality construction materials putting people's lives at risk. "Most brands of cement and steel do not meet basic standard," he said, suggesting the industries to invest in research and development before manufacturing cement and steel.
National Society for Earthquake Technology-Nepal also believes that no high seismic earthquake is needed to destroy Kathmandu Valley houses.
"Some of the housing companies have also not adopted anti-earthquake measures," expert at the society Bijaya Krishna Upadhaya said, adding that most of apartments are located at the bank of rivers, making them more vulnerable.
Director at Kathmandu Steel — a trading company — Ananda Nepal, on the occasion, accepted that most of the steel manufacturers have been manufacturing low quality steels, which is easily affected by rust. "Nepali housing companies have been using low grade steel, he said, adding that negative consequences of the product could be terrible.
The experts also warned people to be ware on cement and steel quality before buying and suggested to use best grade products to construct their houses. "People also should follow Building Construction Standard and adopt anti-earthquake technology during construction to make their houses safer."

Contraction in key sectors squeeze growth rate

Contraction in the key sectors contributing to the gross domestic product (GDP) has squeezed the economic growth rate to 3.56 per cent for the current fiscal year.
The largest contributor to the GDP, agriculture, is expected to contribute 34.33 per cent to the GDP in the current fiscal year from last fiscal year's 35.36 per cent, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) projection.
Despite being mainstay of economy, agriculture could not see any improvement in the last one decade. "Agriculture had contributed 36.92 per cent to the GDP in the fiscal year 2001-02," said deputy director general of CBS Suman Aryal. "But its contribution had dropped to 31.22 per cent in the fiscal year 2007-08," he said, adding that the fluctuation of the sector's contribution to the GDP also reveals that there is no proper planning.
However, the second largest contributor to the GDP, wholesale and retail trade, has been constant. Propelled by remittance inflow, the sector has however seen regular growth in the last three years. The wholesale and retail trade has been projected to contribute 14.42 per cent to the GDP in the current fiscal year, whereas in the last fiscal year, it had contributed 13.67 per cent.
Compared to last fiscal year, transport, storage and communication has increased its contribution to the GDP to 9.20 per cent, the sector had also witnessed a roller-coaster ride over the years.
Likewise, real estate, renting and business activities has contributed to its largest of 10.15 per cent in the fiscal year 2006-07, it has been projected to contribute 8.48 per cent to the GDP in the current fiscal year.
Construction — the fifth largest contributor — is expected to contribute 6.91 per cent  to the GDP in the current fiscal year, compared to 6.81 per cent in the last fiscal year, according to the CBS data, which reflects the movement in the sector, after bubble burst a couple of years ago.
The only sector that has been continuously performing poorly in the last one decade is manufacturing that is expected to contribute 6.17 per cent in the current fiscal year — lower from last fiscal year's 6.28 per cent — to the GDP. The manufacturing is the only sector that has been neglected by the successive governments despite their tall claims of promoting export and private sector for employment generation in the country.
Similarly, the lowest contributor to the economy, fishing, is projected to contributed 0.41 per cent to the GDP in the current fiscal year, from last fiscal year's 0.39 per cent.
'The data is the reflection of country's real economic picture," Aryal said, urging the concerned authorities to take stock of their respective sectors and plan ahead for sustainable economic development.

The key contributors to the GDP
Sector — Composition in 2011-12 — Composition in 2012-13
Agriculture — 35.36 per cent — 34.33 per cent
Wholesale and retail trade — 13.67 per cent — 14.42 per cent
Transport, storage and communication — 8.57 per cent — 9.20 per cent
Real estate, renting and business activities — 8.30 per cent — 8.48 per cent
Construction — 6.81 per cent — 6.91 per cent
Manufacturing — 6.28 per cent — 6.17 per cent
Education — 5.47 per cent — 5.39 per cent
Financial Intermediation — 4.52 per cent — 4.20 per cent
Other community, social, and personal service activities — 3.74 per cent — 3.55 per cent
(Source: Central Bureau of Statistics)

Construction boom boost to cement industries

The construction boom in the country has prompted the industrialists to open new cement industries in the country as around three dozen cement ic industries cannot fulfill the growing market demand and the country has to import around 40 per cent cement to meet the domestic demand.
"Some 29 already established big cement industries with installed capacity of around 12,700-tonne per day can supply only around 60 per cent of the demand," said Jayandra Chudal, executive director of the Bishal Cement that is a Rs 500 million close-circuit plant planning to start production by this April.
Last year, when the country witnessed a construction boom, cement industry emerged as a new investment avenue.
The Central Bureau of Statistics has predicted an increase of the constribution of construction sector to 6.62 per cent to the gross domestic product (GDP) in the last fiscal year -- compared to a fiscal year ago -- due to increase in construction materials, government and private sector construction activities."However, there is a slow down this year," he said, adding that the companies in production now are also operating in half of their installed capacity due to slowdown in the construction business.
"If all the companies that are under construction, come into operation the total production capacity will reach above 16,000 tonne per day, excluding the industries that have 100 tonne and less capacity," Chudal said.Of the 29, seven are mine-based cement industries, including government owned Hetauda Cement and Udayapur Cement, and others include Maruti Cement, Butwal Cement, Supreme Cement, and Dynasty Cement that have Integrated Unit (IU).
Some new industries like Shivam Cement, Ghorahi Cement, Sonapur Cement, Rolpa Cement that are under construction are also mine-based that use the lime stone mines to produce clinker for the cement.
Due to more mine based industries, the contribution of mines to the GDP is also predicted to be 4.23 per cent from a fiscal year ago.
The government in its budget for the fiscal year has announced to give higher priority to the completion of road construction and electricity transmission lines extension works to facilitate the establishment and the construction of the cement industries in Udayapur, Makawanpur, Dhading, Rolpa, and Dang.
However, the cement industries are upbeat. "The local cement industries' could be encouraged, if only the local housing and hydropower companies start using local cement, apart from the government's incentives," according to Chudal.
The government has also promised to provide benefit of direct purchase of diesel form the Nepal Oil Corporation at dealer’s price, in quantity exceeding at least one tanker at a time, for industrial and commercial uses for the manufacturing industries due to regular power outage that has hurt the industries. "But consumer awareness about the quality of cement is as important as power supply," he added.

Nation's first-ever trade survey

The Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) has conducted a trade survey for the first time.Distributive Trade Survey-2009 is expected to give updated data that can figure out the real contribution of internal trade to the gross domestic production (GDP).
"The result of the Distributive Trade Survey-2009 will give a benchmark of internal trade," said Shankar Lal Shrestha, trade statistics section director at CBS. "However, the result is expected by the end of this fiscal year only.
"The survey took one year to be completed. "We have just completed the field work," Shrestha said adding that though the department had previously conducted Trade Margin Survey -- for the purpose of national accounts that was only enough for the calculation of internal trade's contribution to the GDP.
According to the Trade Margin Survey conducted six years ago in 2003, internal trade's contribution to GDP is 13.72 per cent."The Distributive Trade Survey will have elaborate figures of wholesale and retail trade and employment generated by both as well as capital formation and financial positioning that were not included in the Trade Margin Survey although it was enough for the calculation of GDP," Shrestha added.
The Distributive Trade Survey will also provide quality data with more statistics and provide a new benchmark according to the new scenario as it has a coverage frame of 3,000 out of 60,000 identified trade points.
At a time when the business and economic climate in the country is deteriorating, the survey might also be an eye-opener for the government.
CBS -- established in 1959 under the Statistics Act-2015 BS as the central agency for the collection, consolidation, processing, analysis, publication and dissemination of statistics -- publishes a National Life Style Survey on an annual basis.
The department also conducts crop and livestock survey once a year apart from a CPI every three months. It conducts periodic surveys like Labour Survey every five years. But it has conducted domestic Labour Survey in ten years this year.

Sector wise contribution to GDP
Agriculture and Forestry -- 32.35 per cent
Trade -- 13.72 per cent
Transport, Storage and Communication -- 10.46 per cent
Real Estate and business activities -- 8.33 percent
Manufacturing -- 6.79 per cent
Construction -- 6.42 per cent
Education -- 6.02 per cent
Financial Intermediaries -- 4.79 per cent