Nepal needs to upgrade to vehicle production from assembly business

Kathmandu, Dec. 15

Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport, Devendra Dahal, said that Nepal should move to production of vehicles from current assembly business.

"The government is ready to facilitate in this initiative and would create necessary policy environment to promote business and investment in this sector," he said while addressing the 48^th annual general assembly of the NADA Automobile Association in Lalitpur on Sunday.

According to him, automobile and physical infrastructure are closely related and government's duty is to develop quality roads that facilitate safe and timely travel.

Minister Dahal also said that both the monetary and fiscal policies should be predictable and must not leave the investors clueless about their announcements and prospective provisions.

He maintained that the government is favourable to the promotion of the environmentally sustainable transport facilities including passenger and public transport.

Speaking on the occasion, President of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), Chandra Prasad Dhakal, said that the country immediately needs policies to address the economic contraction caused by the preventive measures applied in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic amidst the depleting foreign currency reserves.

He also said that the government should also revise environment policy like allowing the excavation of construction materials from the rivers as the multi-year deposition has created challenges to infrastructures like roads and bridges.

President of Confederation of Nepalese Industries, Rajesh Agrawal, said the policy to increase interest rate and reduce demand in the market has severely impacted the business and industries in the country.

President of NADA, Karan Chaudhary, said that the economic slowdown has caused human resource drain in the automobile sector that directly employs 100,000 and indirectly about a million.

"This sector was contributing about 21 per cent before the COVID-19 pandemic but the economic crisis has significantly impacted it," he said while complaining that the government has been conservative in extending policy and economic facilitation to the vehicle assembling industries. 

 Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 16 December 2024.