The Investment Board Nepal (IBN) is close to signing project development agreement (PDA) with Nepwaste Private Limited, a Finish joint venture company, for the management of solid waste in the Kathmandu Valley. 

The project developer and the IBN, the government authority responsible for implementing the project, have agreed on major issues to be incorporated in the PDA of the Kathmandu Valley Integrated Solid Waste Management Project, including the tariff, which will be levied by the Nepwaste on individual households as service charge.

The IBN is positive about letting the project developer accumulate a service charge of Rs219 per month from every household for collecting solid waste, according to a reliable source at the IBN. 

However, the agreed tariff is subject to approval from city councils of municipalities, which will benefit from the project. Nepwaste will undertake Package Number 1 of the project, covering Kathmandu Metropolitan City and neighbouring nine municipalities. 

Nine municipalities included in the first package are Budhanilkantha, Nagarjun, Tokha, Tarakeshwore, Gokarneshwore, Sankarapur, Dakshinkali, Kageshwori-Manohara and Chandragiri. City councils of these municipalities will have to approve the service charge before it is implemented.

“The tariff was fixed based on assumption that city councils of nine municipalities included in the package would agree to it,” said the IBN source. “Therefore, chances of city councils endorsing the proposed tariff of Rs219 are high.”

Similarly, both the parties have already agreed to build the landfill site at Bancharedanda in Nuwakot and transfer station at Teku in Kathmandu. Also, the project developer has agreed to the IBN’s condition to build the processing and recycling units of the project at the landfill site. 

Initially, the developer had proposed to build those units in the Valley to significantly reduce the volume of waste to be transported to the landfill site, thereby reducing the operation cost. 

The IBN, however, refused to accept the proposal citing possibilities of negative environmental impact in the city.

Likewise, Nepwaste has agreed to segregate biodegradable and non-biodegradable wastes at the source after undertaking the project. 

Another condition put forth by the IBN was on the right to ownership over valuables found in the trash. According to the IBN, the government should be able to lay claim to valuables found in the waste, and the developer has agreed to this condition.  

After the PDA is signed with Nepwaste, the IBN will start PDA negotiations with Clean Valley Company which will undertake waste management in Lalitpur Metropolitan City and neighbouring municipalities as well as municipalities in Kirtipur and Bhaktapur under Package Numbers 2 and 3 of the project.