Kathmandu, Dec 10

Minister for Urban Development Krishna Gopal Shrestha has pledged to take up responsibility for the safety of contractors on part of the government. At a meeting with a delegation of Federation of Contractors’ Associations of Nepal (FCAN) on Wednesday, Minister Shrestha conveyed Prime Minister’s concern regarding safety of contractors and construction equipment.

On the occasion, Minister Shrestha said he would hold discussion with other stakeholders as well on behalf of the ministry to resolve the problems surfaced in the construction sector. The delegation led by Federation chair Rabi Singh had briefed the minister about the COVID-19 impacts on construction sector and possible solution measures.

Among the construction sector issues discussed with the minister were deposit amount, COVID-19 standard, extension of construction deadline, inflation control, banning of extraction of construction materials, law and order, bank guarantee and insurance and credit line commission. The Federation also informed the minister of decreasing trend of cash flow in the construction sector due to prolonged lockdown against COVID-19 and uncertainty of resuming construction following festive season.

The Federation had urged the government to arrange the return of five percent of retention money deposited by the construction sector to the state coffer so as to resume the construction works and enliven the economic transaction.

The delegation comprised federation’s immediate past president Bishnu Bhai Shrestha, senior vice-president Nikolas Pandey, vice-president Pemba Lama, general-secretary Roshan Dahal and office chief Prem Singh Eir, among others.