Weekly Economic Update (17 June 2022 to 23 June 2022)
1. Baglung part of Kaligandaki Corridor blocked — The Baglung section of the Kaligandaki Corridor Road has been blocked due to multiple landslides. It has halted travel to Kushmisera and Butwal. The local residents have expressed dissatisfaction as officials do not seem interested in opening up the road. (Source- https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/baglung-section-of-kaligandaki-corridor-blocked/)
2. Nepal and Bhutan met virtually to talk trade — Nepal and Bhutan held the fourth round of discussions to accelerate work trade and cooperation between them. Both the countries regarding have agreed to revise the lists of goods under the preferential treatment. (Source- https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/nepal-and-bhutan-hold-virtual-trade-talks/)
3. Airfare increases with increasing oil price — Nepal Oil Corporation raised the price of domestic aviation fuel by NPR 19 per liter and international aviation fuel by USD 100 per kiloliter. Airline companies have hiked the airfare by up to NPR 1,020 per travel citing recent increase in prices of petroleum products. (Source- https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/airlines-companies-hike-airfares-by-up-to-rs-1-020-per-travel-citing-increased-fuel-prices/)
4. Global IME Limited Bank (GIBL) and Bank of Kathmandu (BoK) agree to merge — Global IME Bank Limited (GIBL) and Bank of Kathmandu (BoK) signed a MoU for merger. Under the merger, the bank will have a capital of NPR 34.41 billion which will be one of the largest capital bases among commercial banks in Nepal. (Source: https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/gibl-and-bok-ink-agreement-for-merger/)
5. Birtamod municipality’s a 5-year periodic plan — One of the major commercial hubs of Jhapa– Birtamod Municipality — has prepared a five-year periodical plan. The action plan has been prepared with the slogan, ‘Growth of industry, business, health, education, agriculture and employment: Prosperity of Birtamod with development and good governance’. (Source-https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/birtamod-municipality-unveils-a-five-year-periodic-plan-to-make-one-of-the-prosperous-areas-in-eastern-nepal/)
6. Fares for public transportation increase — The Nepali Oil Corporation increased the price of petrol by NPR 21 per liter, and diesel and kerosene by NPR 27 per liter starting on June 19, 2022. Along with a hike in petrol prices, fares of public transportaion has also increased. (Source- https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/public-transport-fares-increase-with-list/ )
7. Bharatpur’s 220 KV substation almost completed — The construction work of the new Bharatpur 220/132 KV substation at Aaptari of Bharatpur Metropolitan City-11, Chitwan is about 80% completed. the substation will have two power transformers of 160/160 MVA capacity. (Source- https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/bharatpur-220-kv-substation-completes-80-percent-of-construction/)
8. Nepal Rastra Bank to sell development bonds — NRB is planning to sell development bonds worth NPR 15 billion. The plan is to auction these bonds to financial institutions, non-bank financial institutions, Nepali citizens, and insurance companies. (Source- https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/nrb-selling-development-bonds-worth-rs-15-billion/)
9. Bagmati govt to equip community schools with IT — The Bagmati Province government has allocated a total of NPR 550 million to equip as many as 300 selected community schools in the province with information technology (IT) in the upcoming fiscal year 2022/23. (Source — https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/bagmati-govt-allocates-rs-550-million-to-equip-community-schools-with-it/)
10. Suggestions to relocate Everest Base Camp — The Everest Monitoring and Facilitation Committee, has suggested to change the Everest base camp due to an increase in environmental risks as a result of human activities. The committee has proposed to shift the base camp by a couple of hundred meters below, the exact place has not been decided. (Source- https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/efforts-underway-to-relocate-ebc-mountaineers-suggest-not-to-hurry/)
