Imbossed Number Plate Plan Becomes State Burden
Summary
Nepal's plan to install embossed number plates on vehicles has become a costly burden due to delayed work, currency exchange rate hikes, and a controversial contract with a blacklisted foreign company.
Key Points
- The embossed number plate project in Nepal has installed plates on 90,000 vehicles in 9 years but incurred nearly 2 billion rupees extra cost due to contract pricing in US dollars.
- Delays were caused by language disputes, court proceedings, the burning of the factory during protests, and extended deadlines with no significant progress.
- The contract requires the government to pay 95% of the total cost even if the company fails to complete the work on time, locking the state into large payments despite minimal progress.
- The contract was awarded controversially to Decatur-Tiger IT JV, a blacklisted company with prior corruption issues, after removing a cheaper Chinese bidder on questionable grounds.
