Being held under the theme “Accelerating Investment in Infrastructure”, the meet aims to start and sustain a national conversation on infrastructure development so that policies, regulations, networks, know-how, financing and expertise could be pooled and deployed in Nepal in a close coordination between the government and the private sector.

CNI President Narendra Basnet said the event will cover several thematic areas including tourism, infrastructure, energy, transportation, urban infrastructure and agriculture.

The conference will have five sessions on outlook and opportunities, sustainable development framework for infrastructure, investment climate in Nepal, infrastructure financing mechanism and enabling policy initiatives.

“The private sector’s investment in infrastructure stood at 0.66 percent of GDP from 2007-12 in Nepal, as per a World Bank report published in 2013. This is a very low figure,” said Basnet. “The gap between potential and reality can be bridged by private capital. Therefore, CNI is hosting Nepal’s first-ever such summit.”

Indian Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Jairam Gadkari will be the inaugural speaker of the event. “In India, the Modi government has prioritised infrastructure and rural sector development. Hence, we have invited Gadkari to share his ideas that can be really helpful for Nepal,” said Hari Bhakta Sharma, senior vice president of CNI.

Sharma said the lack of relevant policy and regulations has discouraged domestic as well as foreign investors, so the event will also be helpful for the government as it will help identify the prospective investment areas.

Besides Gadkari, National Planning Commission Vice-chairman Govinda Raj Pokhrel, CNI President Emeritus Binod Chaudhary, Investment Board Nepal CEO Radhesh Pant, and NPC member Swarnim Wagle will be other keynote speakers.

CNI member Vishnu Agrawal said they would prepare a white paper and come up with an action plan after the conclusion of the event. “A separate cell will be crated at the CNI secretariat, which will hold frequent meetings with stakeholders to keep the issue rolling,” said Agrawal.

The Nepal government and the Youth Community for Nepalese Contractors are co-organisers of the event. Around half dozen institutions, comprising of donor agencies, have partnered for the event.