Almost all newspapers published in Kathmandu on Friday have given space on their front page to reports on the signing of the joint venture agreement between Nepal Electricity Authority and China’s Three Gorges for the construction of the 750 MW West Seti Hydro electric project. Similarly, issues related to the elections have also received attention from the editors. Here’s a summary of the front pages:
Important
West Seti paperwork moves forward
Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) and China Three Gorges Corporation signed an agreement to establish a JV, West Setu Hydro Power Company, to construct the 750 MW West Seti hydropower project. Karobar, in its lead story for the day, says the agreement was signed five years behind schedule. The paper reports that the NEA will have 25 per cent stake in the company and the rest will go to Three Gorges. The report says that Three Gorges has agreed to give away 10 per cent of its stake to local residents who will be affected by the project. The deal is worth $1.81 billion, and the Chinese government is to provide soft loan to the NEA to raise its share of capital for the project.
The Himalayan Times says the Investment Board of Nepal will endorse the JVA and the investment proposal prepared by the Three Gorges. After board members are appointed to the JVC, the JVC will sign a project development agreement with the IBN. When the EIA is carried out and a power purchase agreement is signed with the NEA, the construction contract will be signed. Arthik Abhiyan says the project will take six years to complete.
District-level leaders frontrunners for Chief Minister
Naya Patrika says most of the front-runners for the Chief Minister post in the newly-formed provinces are district-level leaders. It has a list of people who are likely to receive their party’s call for the posts. For the Nepali Congress, in Province 1, almost all district presidents are in the race for the top post. Similarly, in Province 2, Chandra Mohan Yadav, the son of former President Ram Baran Yadav and Subhash Chandra Yadav, the son of NC treasurer Sita Devi Yadav are believed to be in the race. The paper reports that in Province 1, UML leaders Bhim Acharya and Serdhan Rai are in the race while in Province 2, the Left Alliance is likely to field Bharat Shah. Similarly, in Province 5, the Maoists’ Kul Prasad KC has been campaigning for the job.
In Province 2, RJP leaders Manish Suman and Jitendra Sonal are in the race while Lal Babu Raut has been seen as the Forum-Nepal candidate for the post.
Ignored
Soaring ‘candidacy costs’ worries experts
Republica in its main story for the day quotes fiscal federalism expert Khim Lal Devkota as saying that winning elections has become impossible without buying votes. He says that after a person is elected, he has to invest more to become a minister to recover the money already spent. The report says that although the Election Commission has made it mandatory for candidates to use banking channels for donations exceeding Rs 50,000. But the paper interviewed leaders of major parties and found out that none of them has used the banking system.
Interesting
Why are parties trying to influence diaspora even when they can’t vote?
Republica in its anchor for the day says political parties are running election campaigns outside Nepal as well even as Nepali abroad do not have a vote in the elections. The report says that major political parties have realised the influence migrants have on friends and family back home and are making bigger investments to canvass support from an estimated four million people living outside of Nepal.
Pokhara Airport construction gathers momentum
Arthik Abhiyan says the Chinese contractor CCAMC has started work on the Pokhara International Airport after performing Chinese rituals. The company has mobilised excavators, bulldozers, loaders and tippers to begin the preliminary work of the airport, around one-and-a-half years after the foundation stone for the project was laid. The project is to be completed in four years.
