The Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers on Monday morning directed the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation to immediately advance the contract process for the Sunkoshi-Marin Diversion Multipurpose National Pride Project, at a meeting held at the Prime Minister’s Office in Singha Durbar. The instruction calls for the process to proceed under the amended act and regulations. The ministry committed at the meeting to completing the project on schedule, while the contract process was described as being in its final stage.
Contract process enters its final stage
The directive puts the ministry under an immediate instruction to move the project’s contract process forward. It comes as the project approaches the stage of reviewing financial proposals, which had been scheduled to open on Kartik 16. The planned opening is a significant point in the procurement timeline, but the available details do not state whether that date has changed following Monday’s meeting.
The meeting did not announce that a contract had been awarded. Rather, the instruction was to advance the process, with the ministry responsible for carrying it out under the amended legal framework. The description of the process as being in its final stage indicates that the project has reached an advanced point in the contracting sequence, while the next steps remain subject to the applicable act and regulations.
The directive also links the project’s immediate procurement work with the government’s stated expectation that it be completed on schedule. The ministry’s commitment was made during the meeting, according to the information provided. No revised timeline, new completion date or further detail about the contract procedure was announced in the available account.
Ministry told to proceed under amended rules
The Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers specifically instructed the Energy Ministry to proceed under the amended act and regulations. That condition places the legal framework at the centre of the next stage: the ministry is expected to advance the contract process while following the amended provisions. The instruction does not identify particular clauses or explain what changes the amendments introduced.
The ministry’s role is therefore to carry forward the process within those rules and maintain the schedule commitment made at the meeting. The information available does not specify which officials will handle the remaining procurement steps, how long they are expected to take or when a final contract decision will be made. It also does not provide the names of bidders or details of their financial proposals.
Schedule commitment remains in focus
The Sunkoshi-Marin Diversion is identified as a Multipurpose National Pride Project, and the meeting focused on moving its contract process forward. The planned opening of financial proposals on Kartik 16 provides the clearest stated marker in the procurement timeline. With the process described as being at its final stage, the government’s direction is aimed at ensuring that the remaining steps progress without delay, while remaining within the amended legal framework.
The ministry’s commitment to complete the project on schedule is the main assurance recorded from the meeting. The directive itself does not provide a separate project completion date or set out milestones beyond advancing the contract process. Further progress will depend on the ministry completing the required steps, including those connected to the financial proposals and the eventual contract process, in accordance with the amended act and regulations.
