Kathmandu: The government has announced plans to amend the Public Procurement Act within the next 30 days to improve efficiency in infrastructure development. The decision was made during the first Cabinet meeting of the newly formed government as part of its 100-day, 100-point action plan.
The move aims to address long-standing issues in public procurement, including delays, poor-quality construction, rising costs, and corruption. Alongside legal amendments, the government is also planning broader reforms in procurement systems and project management to ensure faster and more accountable development.
To accelerate development projects and strengthen governance, the government has proposed not only revising the existing law but also drafting a new umbrella law to streamline project facilitation.
The amended procurement framework will introduce modern concepts such as value for money, life-cycle costing, e-government marketplace, and performance-based contracting. The goal is to make the procurement process fully digital, transparent, and trackable while promoting fair competition.
To improve project planning and management, the National Planning Commission will prepare a “National Project Pipeline” within two months. This will classify all projects based on economic, social, and environmental criteria and determine appropriate investment models, including government funding, public-private partnerships, or foreign investment.
To deal with long-delayed and stalled projects, a high-level study team will be formed within 30 days. Based on its findings, it will recommend whether such projects should continue or be scrapped.
For large and strategic national pride projects, a fast-track mechanism will be introduced. This will integrate and automate processes such as land acquisition, tree clearance, and environmental impact assessments, with direct oversight from the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers.
Projects that repeatedly fail during the tendering process—especially those that remain unawarded even after two attempts—will now be directly executed by the government through a state-owned infrastructure company. Necessary legal provisions, manpower, and equipment for this approach will be arranged within 30 days.
To curb irregularities from project selection to payment, a data-driven, end-to-end e-procurement monitoring system will be implemented within 90 days.
Additionally, to remove bureaucratic hurdles and legal complications, a draft of the “Project Facilitation Umbrella Law” will be prepared within 60 days.
To ease public inconvenience caused by road construction delays, the government will immediately introduce a project monitoring schedule. It also plans to install weighbridges at key highway points within 45 days to better manage road usage and safety.
Furthermore, the Ministry of Urban Development will set minimum standards for government office infrastructure and design within two months and implement them within 100 days.
Overall, the government expects these reforms to remove structural and legal barriers in project execution and significantly boost development spending.
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