Potholes for pride

There must be a tighter project pipeline, which ensures only investment-ready projects enter the budget.

Nepal’s grand development aspiration is often etched into its asphalt and concrete, yet these etchings are increasingly becoming fossils before they are even finished. The very projects designated to evoke national pride have instead become monuments to systemic inertia. A recent analysis by the World Bank has laid bare a reality that citizens feel in their bones every time they travel across the country: At our current rate of funding and execution, it will take another 41 years to complete the 17 ongoing national pride projects. For a country that desperately needs connectivity to foster job creation, tourism and productivity, this timeline is an indictment of a governance culture that prioritises the laying of foundation stones.