Minister for Infrastructure Development Sunil Lamsal said on Thursday that the government has prepared drafts to amend 59 Acts as it works to create an investment-friendly environment, and that the legal and policy reforms will be completed before the upcoming investment summit. Speaking at the Infrastructure Summit 2026 in Kathmandu, Lamsal said the conference would serve as a showcase of investment-friendly laws rather than being limited to the announcement of projects, placing legal readiness at the centre of Nepal's pitch to investors.

Summit to showcase laws, not just projects

The minister's most pointed message to the gathering in Kathmandu concerned the very purpose of the event. According to Onlinekhabar, Lamsal told participants that the Infrastructure Summit 2026 should not be seen merely as a stage for unveiling projects. Instead, he said, it would function as a showcase of the investment-friendly laws the government has been preparing, presenting the reformed legal framework itself as the main attraction for prospective investors.

The framing marks a deliberate shift in emphasis. Rather than asking domestic and foreign investors to commit on the strength of individual project proposals, the government is presenting structural legal reform as the headline of its investment agenda. In Lamsal's telling, the summit in Kathmandu is where that groundwork goes on display: the amended legislation, the updated policies and the assurance that the rules governing investment will be in place before the investment summit convenes.

The comments also carry weight given the minister's portfolio. As the minister responsible for infrastructure development, Lamsal oversees a sector in which large, capital-intensive projects typically depend on clear and predictable legal procedures. His decision to foreground the legal agenda at an infrastructure-focused conference suggests the government views reform of the statute book as a prerequisite for the investment it hopes the summit will attract.

59 Acts drafted for amendment

At the core of Thursday's announcement is the scale of the legal exercise. Lamsal said the government has already prepared drafts to amend 59 Acts, a number that points to a reform push of considerable breadth rather than a handful of piecemeal changes. The stated objective, according to the minister, is to create an environment in which investment can be brought in and operated with greater ease.

The key points from the minister's address were:

  • The government has prepared drafts to amend 59 Acts.
  • The purpose of the amendments is to create an investment-friendly environment.
  • The legal and policy reforms are to be completed before the upcoming investment summit.
  • The Infrastructure Summit 2026 is intended to showcase the reformed laws rather than to serve only as a platform for project announcements.

Legal and policy reform together

Lamsal paired legal reform with policy reform in his remarks, saying both would be completed before the investment summit. The pairing is significant because laws and policies together define the conditions under which projects are approved, financed and carried out, and the minister's comments indicated that the government's review covers both. By committing to complete the two strands of reform before the summit, Lamsal signalled that the exercise is intended to deliver a coherent package for investors rather than isolated adjustments scattered across the statute book.

Reforms to be completed before the investment summit

Lamsal attached a clear timeline to the reform agenda. The legal and policy reforms, he said, would be completed before the upcoming investment summit, effectively setting the event as the deadline by which the amendments to the 59 Acts should be finalised. The commitment ties the government's legislative work to a fixed date and gives investors a specific point at which they can expect to see the reformed framework in effect.

The deadline also raises the stakes for delivery. With 59 draft amendments already prepared, the remaining task is to carry the reforms through to completion before the summit. Lamsal's address presented the drafts as ready and the timeline as firm, but the promise will now be measured against the summit's calendar: either the amended laws are completed before investors gather, or the government's central claim about its investment-friendly legal environment will be put to the test.

With the Infrastructure Summit 2026 under way in Kathmandu and the investment summit approaching, the government has staked its investment pitch on the law. Lamsal's message was straightforward: the groundwork, in the form of 59 draft amendments, is prepared, the reforms will be completed in time, and the summit will show investors not just what Nepal wants to build, but the legal framework under which they would build it.