Finance Ministry says Fast Track will not face budget shortage

Kathmandu / Feb 9: The Ministry of Finance has stated that there will be no shortage of budget for the Kathmandu-Terai / Madhesh Fast Track project that is under construction at present. The Ministry of Finance has given such a reply while the Nepal Army, which is responsible for the construction of the project, is demanding to ensure the budget.

Speaking at a meeting of the Delegated Management and Government Assurance Committee under the National Assembly on Wednesday, Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Finance Baburam Subedi expressed his commitment not to allow any shortage of budget for the project of national pride.

However, he also warned the project to come up with a reality-based plan. Joint Secretary Subedi also said that the finance ministry was facing problems in arranging the necessary budget for the project due to lack of a realistic plan.

Similarly, Dr. Bishwanath Poudel, Vice-Chairman of the National Planning Commission, also urged the project to coordinate with the ministries concerned about the required budget in a timely manner. He said that the budget should be arranged based on the progress of the project. In the same way, the Ministry of Defense has stated that the project will be completed on time but the government should ensure the source of budget for that.

Defense Secretary Kiran Raj Sharma said that necessary budget arrangements should be made to complete the project on time. He demanded the Ministry of Finance to provide Rs. 5 billion in the current fiscal year, Rs. 55.5 billion in the next fiscal year, Rs. 45.66 billion in the fiscal year 2023/24 and Rs. 34.52 billion in the fiscal year 2024/25.

The project with a budget of Rs. 175 billion is targeted to be completed by 2025. Project Chief Brigadier General Bikas Pokharel reiterated that the project would be completed on time but there should be no shortage of budget for it.