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IBN to hold talks before signing solid waste deal
Investment Board Nepal (IBN) will consult with the Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development (MoFALD) before signing a project development agreement (PDA) with Finnish joint venture Nepwaste for solid waste management in the Kathmandu Valley as new local bodies have been formed recently.Investment Board Nepal (IBN) will consult with the Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development (MoFALD) before signing a project development agreement (PDA) with Finnish joint venture Nepwaste for solid waste management in the Kathmandu Valley as new local bodies have been formed recently.
Previously, IBN had planned to meet with Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) and Nepwaste before finalising the PDA. But with nine new local bodies being set up in the Valley, confusion emerged over with whom IBN and Nepwaste should hold talks.
IBN’s 26th board meeting held last week decided to send the draft PDA to the MoFALD. The ministry will consult with KMC and the other municipalities before giving the go-ahead to IBN to seal the deal.
“IBN has readied the draft but delayed sending it to the ministry as Secretary Dinesh Kumar Thapaliya has asked for a briefing,” said Maha Prasad Adhikari, CEO of IBN. Nepwaste and IBN have agreed on major issues to be included in the PDA of the Kathmandu Valley Integrated Solid waste Management Project, including the service charge homeowners will have to pay. A reliable IBN source said the charge had been tentatively fixed at Rs219 per month, but the municipalities would have to approve it.
Nepwaste will undertake Package Number 1 of the project, covering KMC and nine neighbouring municipalities—Budhanilkantha, Nagarjun, Tokha, Tarakeshwor, Gokarneshwor, Sankharapur, Dakshinkali, Kageshwori-Manohara and Chandragiri.
Similarly, the two parties have agreed to build a landfill site at Banchare Danda in Nuwakot and a transfer station at Teku in Kathmandu. Also, the project developer has agreed to IBN’s condition to build processing and recycling units at the landfill site.
Initially, the developer had proposed to build these units in the Valley as it would reduce the amount of waste that would be transported to the landfill site and thus cut operating costs. IBN rejected the plan citing negative environmental impact on the city.
Likewise, Nepwaste has agreed to segregate biodegradable and non-biodegradable wastes at the source. Another condition put forth by IBN is related to the right to ownership over valuables found in the trash. According to IBN, the government should be able to lay claim to valuables found in the waste, and the developer has agreed to this condition.