Notice of Entering Into a Compact With the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, 45318-45321 [2017-20847]
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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 187 / Thursday, September 28, 2017 / Notices
compliance officer to determine that an
employer properly notified workers
about the design and construction of,
and modifications made to, the trucks
they are operating, and that an employer
provided them with the required
training.
II. Special Issues for Comment
OSHA has a particular interest in
comments on the following issues:
• Whether the proposed information
collection requirements are necessary
for the proper performance of the
Agency’s functions, including whether
the information is useful;
• The accuracy of OSHA’s estimate of
the burden (time and costs) of the
information collection requirements,
including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used;
• The quality, utility, and clarity of
the information collected; and
• Ways to minimize the burden on
employers who must comply. For
example, by using automated or other
technological information collection
and transmission techniques.
III. Proposed Actions
OSHA is proposing to increase the
existing burden hour estimate of the
collection of information requirements
specified by the Standard. In this regard,
the Agency is proposing to increase the
current burden hour estimate from
888,244 hours to 911,764 hours, a total
increase of 23,520 hours. The
adjustment increase is due to updated
data indicating a growth in the number
of powered industrial trucks from
1,179,441 to 1,210,679 and the number
of operators from 1,769,162 to
1,816,018.
Upon further analysis, OSHA has
determined that these training
provisions are not considered to be
collections of information under the
PRA. In addition, the Agency was able
to gather data updating the number of
trucks and operators. The Agency will
summarize the comments submitted in
response to this notice and will include
this summary in the request to OMB.
Type of Review: Extension of a
currently approved collection.
Title: Powered Industrial Trucks (29
CFR 1910.178).
OMB Control Number: 1218–0242.
Affected Public: Business or other forprofits.
Number of Respondents: 1,210,679.
Number of Responses: 2,397,144.
Frequency of Reponses: On occasion;
annually; triennially.
Average Time per Response: Various.
Estimated Total Burden Hours:
427,866.
Estimated Cost (Operation and
Maintenance): $256,626.
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IV. Public Participation—Submission of
Comments on This Notice and Internet
Access to Comments and Submissions
You may submit comments in
response to this document as follows:
(1) Electronically at https://
www.regulations.gov, which is the
Federal eRulemaking Portal; (2) by
facsimile (fax); or (3) by hard copy. All
comments, attachments, and other
materials must identify the Agency
name and the OSHA docket number for
the ICR (Docket No. OSHA–2011–0062).
You may supplement electronic
submissions by uploading document
files electronically. If you wish to mail
additional materials in reference to an
electronic or facsimile submission, you
must submit them to the OSHA Docket
Office (see the section of this notice
titled ADDRESSES). The additional
materials must clearly identify your
electronic comments by your name,
date, and the docket number so that the
Agency can attach them to your
comments.
Because of security procedures, the
use of regular mail may cause a
significant delay in the receipt of
comments. For information about
security procedures concerning the
delivery of materials by hand, express
delivery, messenger, or courier service,
please contact the OSHA Docket Office
at (202) 693–2350, (TTY (877) 889–
5627).
Comments and submissions are
posted without change at https://
www.regulations.gov. Therefore, OSHA
cautions commenters about submitting
personal information such as social
security numbers and date of birth.
Although all submissions are listed in
the https://www.regulations.gov index,
some information (e.g., copyrighted
material) is not publicly available to
read or download from this Web site.
All submissions, including copyrighted
material, are available for inspection
and copying at the OSHA Docket Office.
Information on using the https://
www.regulations.gov Web site to submit
comments and access the docket is
available at the Web site’s ‘‘User Tips’’
link. Contact the OSHA Docket Office
for information about materials not
available from the Web site, and for
assistance in using the Internet to locate
docket submissions.
V. Authority and Signature
Loren Sweatt, Deputy Assistant
Secretary of Labor for Occupational
Safety and Health, directed the
preparation of this notice. The authority
for this notice is the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3506
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et seq.) and Secretary of Labor’s Order
No. 1–2012 (77 FR 3912).
Signed at Washington, DC, on September
19, 2017.
Loren Sweatt,
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for
Occupational Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 2017–20770 Filed 9–27–17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510–26–P
MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE
CORPORATION
[MCC FR 17–05]
Notice of Entering Into a Compact With
the Federal Democratic Republic of
Nepal
Millennium Challenge
Corporation.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
In accordance with Section
610(b)(2) of the Millennium Challenge
Act of 2003 (22 U.S.C. 7701–7718), as
amended, and the heading ‘‘Millennium
Challenge Corporation’’ of the
Department of State, Foreign
Operations, and Related Programs
Appropriations Act, 2017, the
Millennium Challenge Corporation
(MCC) is publishing a summary of the
Millennium Challenge Compact
between the United States of America,
acting through MCC, and the Republic
of Nepal. Representatives of MCC and
Nepal signed the compact on September
14, 2017. The complete text of the
compact has been posted at: https://
assets.mcc.gov/content/uploads/
compact-nepal.pdf.
SUMMARY:
Dated: September 25, 2017.
Jeanne M. Hauch,
Vice President and General Counsel,
Millennium Challenge Corporation.
Summary of the Nepal Compact
Overview of MCC Nepal Compact
MCC’s Board of Directors has
approved a five-year, $500 million
compact with Nepal aimed at reducing
poverty through economic growth. The
compact seeks to assist Nepal in
addressing two binding constraints to
economic growth: (i) Inadequate supply
of electricity; and (ii) high cost of
transportation. The compact will
address these binding constraints by
investing in two projects: The Electricity
Transmission Project and the Road
Maintenance Project.
Background and Context
Nepal’s economic growth, labor
productivity, and gross domestic
product per capita are among the lowest
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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 187 / Thursday, September 28, 2017 / Notices
in South Asia. A decade of civil and
political unrest from 1996 to 2006
continues to shape the social, economic,
and political landscape of the country.
The people of Nepal continue to deal
with the fallout from a series of
devastating earthquakes in 2015 that
killed nearly 9,000 people and pushed
an additional million below the poverty
line. Almost half a million people leave
the country each year for economic
opportunities elsewhere. In September
2017, Nepal will hold the final phase of
a three-phase local, democratic election
in hundreds of municipalities
throughout the country. These local
elections are the first in 20 years and the
first to be held since Nepal ratified its
constitution in 2015, a critical step in
continuing to foster transparency and
accountability in government.
The proposed compact is designed to
address the underlying causes of two
binding constraints to Nepal’s growth:
Inadequate supply of electricity and
high cost of transportation. Nepal
suffers from the worst electricity
shortages in South Asia, and new
investment in Nepal’s electricity sector
is critical to achieve economic growth.
Only half of the demand for electricity
can be met by the nation’s grid, which
has resulted in load-shedding of up to
18 hours a day during the dry winter
months when hydropower generation is
low. The constraints to growth analysis
found that the low availability of
electricity creates significant costs for
businesses that must run generators on
expensive imported fuel. The
availability of electricity is further
reduced by Nepal’s constrained ability
to import power when needed and the
high level of losses in transmission and
distribution system.
The transportation sector has also
suffered from Nepal’s past political
instability, inadequate investment, weak
planning, and poor project execution.
These factors have contributed to poor
road quality, inefficient customs and
border enforcement, an inefficient
trucking industry, and inadequate road
coverage. The Government of Nepal
recognizes that investments in this
sector are needed to reduce
transportation costs and promote
economic growth.
Compact Overview and Budget
After MCC selected Nepal as eligible
for threshold program assistance in
December 2011, MCC and the
Government of Nepal conducted a
constraints to growth analysis. When
MCC’s Board of Directors selected Nepal
as eligible to develop a compact in
December 2014, MCC and the
Government of Nepal used the analysis
completed for the threshold program to
develop the proposed compact.
MCC and Nepal identified four
binding constraints and agreed to focus
the proposed compact on the two best
suited for MCC’s assistance: The
inadequate supply of electricity and the
high cost of transportation. The
proposed compact seeks to address the
selected constraints by investing in two
projects: the Electricity Transmission
Project and the Road Maintenance
Project.
Nepal is already undertaking
significant investments in the
generation and distribution portions of
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the power sector value chain. The
proposed Electricity Transmission
Project therefore seeks to strengthen the
transmission portion of the value chain,
which has been weakened by historic
underinvestment and poor
implementation. The Electricity
Transmission Project plans to add
approximately 300 kilometers to the
high-voltage transmission backbone
inside Nepal, complete the Nepal
portion of the second cross-border
transmission line with India for
increased electricity trade, and provide
technical assistance aimed at improving
the sustainability of Nepal’s power
sector. The compact will also support
Nepal’s establishment of an
independent and capable power sector
regulator, which is essential for
maintaining open, non-discriminatory
access to a transmission network with
transparent pricing and clear rules of
engagement.
The Road Maintenance Project
focuses on improving Nepal’s road
maintenance regime by providing
technical assistance to key actors within
the transportation sector. The Road
Maintenance Project also includes an
incentive-matching fund to encourage
the expansion of Nepal’s road
maintenance budget, in addition to the
periodic maintenance of up to 305
kilometers of the country’s strategic
road network.
The following summary describes the
components of Nepal’s compact. The
MCC investment for the compact is $500
million, with an additional $130 million
committed by Nepal to support the
compact program.
Total
(millions $)
Component
1. Electricity Transmission Project ......................................................................................................................................................
1.1 Transmission Lines Activity .................................................................................................................................................
1.2 Substation Activity ................................................................................................................................................................
1.3 Power Sector Technical Assistance Activity ........................................................................................................................
1.4 Project Management Activity ...............................................................................................................................................
2. Roads Maintenance Project ............................................................................................................................................................
2.1 Technical Assistance Road Maintenance Reform ...............................................................................................................
2.2 Strategic Road Maintenance Works ....................................................................................................................................
3. Monitoring and Evaluation ...............................................................................................................................................................
3.1 Monitoring and Evaluation Activities ....................................................................................................................................
4. Program Administration and Oversight ...........................................................................................................................................
4.1 MCA-Nepal Program Administration ....................................................................................................................................
4.2 Fiscal Agent, Procurement Agent, Audit .............................................................................................................................
398.2
228.2
114.0
22.4
33.6
52.3
7.1
45.2
9.5
9.5
40.0
23.4
16.6
Total MCC Contribution .........................................................................................................................................................
Government of Nepal Contribution ................................................................................................................................
500.0
130.0
Total Program Investment ......................................................................................................................................
630.0
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Nepal Compact Budget
Project Summaries
The Electricity Transmission Project:
The objective of this project is to spur
economic activity and growth by
improving the availability and
reliability of electricity supply in
Nepal’s power grid, thus increasing per
capita electricity consumption. This
project includes four activities:
• Transmission Lines Activity. This
activity will focus on the construction of
an estimated 300 kilometers of high
voltage transmission lines in Nepal,
providing a vital missing link to the
existing high voltage grid. Most of the
proposed transmission lines traverse
mountainous terrain, starting near the
Kathmandu Valley, moving to the west
and then southwest to the Indian
border. The particular lines were
selected following careful analyses and
feasibility studies that weighed their
technical and economic merit, their
importance in meeting Nepal’s medium
and long term electricity supply goals,
and their consistency with Nepal’s
domestic and cross border transmission
investment plans. The transmission line
route was selected to minimize impact
on people and sensitive geographic
areas, to the extent possible. Moreover,
the activity includes funding for certain
community benefit-sharing activities in
order to further mitigate potential social
impacts from construction of the
transmission lines. Potential activities
include rural electrification through offgrid solutions and community
empowerment programs.
• Substations Activity. This activity is
complementary to the Transmission
Lines Activity. The proposed compact
contemplates constructing three
substations. In combination with the
transmission lines, these substations
would help evacuate and transmit
power collected from three major river
basins where large hydropower projects
are under construction by investors,
many of which are private. The
substation near Butwal would be the
starting point for the transmission line
to the Indian border and power grid.
• Power Sector Technical Assistance
Activity. This activity seeks to
strengthen the proposed power sector
regulator (Electricity Regulatory
Commission) to help bring
transparency, efficiency, and
competition to the power sector. The
activity would help Nepal embed
experts within the Electricity Regulatory
Commission to improve the skills of this
nascent agency in areas such as rulemaking, dispute resolution, and
economic and technical regulation. This
activity would also help the Nepal
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18:44 Sep 27, 2017
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Electricity Authority improve its
transmission operations and prepare for
oversight from the new independent
electricity regulator. This will help
establish a regulatory cost recovery
system, improved grid operations, and
better power system planning within the
Nepal Electricity Authority.
• Program Management and
Technical Oversight Activity. This
activity is designed to complement the
Transmission Lines and Substation
Activities by supporting project
management, environmental and social
impact assessment, and engineering and
technical supervision. This will allow
the compact to properly implement the
proposed infrastructure investments
while complying with MCC’s technical,
environmental, and social standards.
The Road Maintenance Project: The
objective of this project is to avoid
future increases in transportation costs
across Nepal’s road network by
preventing further deterioration of
maintained roads and to improve the
administration of road maintenance.
This project has two activities:
• Technical Assistance Activity. This
activity is planned to build capacity for
the Department of Roads and Roads
Board Nepal in (1) improved data
collection; (2) preparation of
appropriate road maintenance plans and
cost estimates; (3) improved
prioritization of periodic maintenance;
(4) improved contracting and
contracting management; and (5)
improved project management.
• Strategic Road Maintenance Works
Activity. This activity seeks to
complement and build upon the
Technical Assistance Activity by
incentivizing additional government
spending on road maintenance. The
activity would establish a matching
fund to provide $2 for every $1 Nepal
spends above its current average annual
amount for road maintenance, up to a
total of $15 million annually for three
years. The activity would additionally
provide for the physical maintenance of
an initial 305 kilometers out of the 2,000
kilometers of Nepal’s strategic road
network.
Economic Analysis
The proposed Electricity
Transmission Project has an estimated
economic rate of return of 12 percent.
The investment in Nepal’s transmission
system is expected to affect all gridconnected consumers, which represent
72 percent of Nepali households. With
a projected population in 2024 of 31.5
million people, an estimated 23 million
individual beneficiaries living in five
million households are expected to
benefit from this project. Fifty-two
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percent of the potential beneficiaries are
estimated to be female.
The estimated economic rate of return
for the Road Maintenance Project is 29
percent. The 305 kilometers of roads
proposed by Nepal for periodic
maintenance under the compact are
spread across five road segments in five
geographic areas. The Project is
expected to benefit approximately
924,000 people in 205,000 households.
MCC anticipates that there will be
overlap in the beneficiaries of the two
proposed projects and thus ultimately
expects the compact to benefit
approximately 23 million individuals.
Policy Reforms and the Compact
MCC will require certain conditions
to entry into force of the compact in
order to ensure sustainability of
compact investments. For example,
given the proposed compact’s focus and
the clear need for a second cross-border
transmission connection with India,
MCC will require that technical and
financial arrangements for the
construction of the complementary
investment in India be finalized before
entry into force of the compact. This
requirement is expected to be further
strengthened through conditions
regarding the Nepal portion of the crossborder transmission line that must be
met for certain compact disbursements.
The proposed compact includes
several key reform elements, supported
by technical assistance activities in each
project. The Power Sector Technical
Assistance Activity includes conditions
to help Nepal create a transparent and
efficient electricity market. MCC
believes that the establishment of the
Electricity Regulatory Commission as an
independent and capable regulator is
essential for maintaining open, nondiscriminatory access to a transmission
network with transparent pricing and
clear rules of engagement for all power
market participants, particularly
investors in generation projects. The
compact proposes to increase the
utility’s planning, operations, and cost
recovery mechanisms to help ensure the
sustainability of the proposed
investments. Strengthening the utility’s
transmission operations should ensure
its viability if Nepal decides to spin off
or merge those operations with an
independent transmission company.
MCC has conditioned the entry into
force of the compact on satisfactory
progress toward parliamentary approval
of a bill to establish the Electricity
Regulatory Commission. Further,
funding for the Power Sector Technical
Assistance Activity will only be
provided if the Electricity Regulatory
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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 187 / Thursday, September 28, 2017 / Notices
[FR Doc. 2017–20847 Filed 9–26–17; 11:15 am]
BILLING CODE 9211–03–P
MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE
CORPORATION
[MCC FR 17–07]
Millennium Challenge Corporation
Advisory Council
Jkt 241001
II. Method of Collection
NASA is participating in Federal
efforts to extend the use of information
technology to more Government
processes via Internet. NASA
encourages recipients to use the latest
computer technology in preparing
documentation. Grant and Cooperative
Agreement awardees submit annual
property reports via an automated
NASA Form 1018 by way of the NASA
Electronic Submission System (NESS).
Approximately 95% of reports are
submitted via electronic means.
BILLING CODE 9211–03–P
In accordance with the
requirements of the Federal Advisory
Committee Act, 5 U.S.C.—App., the
Millennium Challenge Corporation
(MCC) Advisory Council was
established as a discretionary advisory
committee on June 14, 2016. The MCC
Advisory Council contributes to MCC’s
mission to reduce poverty through
economic growth. The functions of the
MCC Advisory Council are to
exclusively serve MCC in an advisory
capacity and provide insight regarding
innovations in infrastructure,
technology and sustainability, perceived
risks and opportunities in MCC partner
countries, new financing mechanisms
for developing country contexts, and
shared value approaches. The MCC
Advisory Council provides a platform
for systematic engagement with the
private sector and other external
stakeholders.
DATES: The meeting will be held
October 17, 2017, from 9 a.m.–1:45 p.m.
EST.
ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at
the Millennium Challenge Corporation
1099 14th St. NW., Suite 700
Washington, DC 20005.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For
further information, contact Beth
Roberts at MCCAdvisoryCouncil@
mcc.gov or 202–521–3600 or visit
https://www.mcc.gov/about/org-unit/
advisory-council.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Time and Place: Tuesday, October 17,
2017, from 9:00 a.m.–1:45 p.m. EST
which includes a working lunch. The
18:44 Sep 27, 2017
I. Abstract
The information submitted by
recipients is an annual report of
Government-owned property in the
possession of educational or nonprofit
institutions holding NASA grants. In
addition to the annual report, a property
report may also be required at the end
of the grant, or on the occurrence of
certain events. The collected
information is used by NASA to
effectively maintain an appropriate
internal control system for equipment
and property provided or acquired
under grants and cooperative
agreements with institutions of higher
education and other nonprofit
organizations, and to comply with
statutory requirements.
[FR Doc. 2017–20849 Filed 9–26–17; 11:15 am]
Millennium Challenge
Corporation.
ACTION: Notice of open meeting.
AGENCY:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
meeting will be held at the Millennium
Challenge Corporation 1099 14th St.
NW., Suite 700, Washington, DC 20005.
Agenda: During the fall 2017 meeting
of the MCC Advisory Council, members
will discuss ways MCC can continue to
bolster its relationship with the private
sector and provide advice on MCC’s
investments in the Northern Triangle
and ongoing compact development in
Tunisia.
Public Participation: The meeting will
be open to the public. Members of the
public may file written statement(s)
before or after the meeting. If you plan
to attend, please submit your name and
affiliation no later than Monday,
October 9, to MCCAdvisoryCouncil@
mcc.gov to be placed on an attendee list.
Jeanne M. Hauch,
VP/General Counsel and Corporate Secretary,
Millennium Challenge Corporation.
Commission bill has been passed by the
Nepali parliament.
For the Technical Assistance Activity
in the Road Maintenance Project, MCC
will provide compact funding for
maintenance works only if Nepal
increases its own historically low
spending levels on road maintenance.
The compact is expected to incentivize
Nepal to increase its spending for road
maintenance significantly by making
MCC funding conditioned on increased
Nepal spending.
SUMMARY:
45321
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND
SPACE ADMINISTRATION
[Notice: (17–069)]
Notice of Information Collection
National Aeronautics and
Space Administration (NASA).
ACTION: Notice of information collection.
AGENCY:
The National Aeronautics and
Space Administration, as part of its
continuing effort to reduce paperwork
and respondent burden, invites the
general public and other Federal
agencies to take this opportunity to
comment on proposed and/or
continuing information collections, as
required by the Paperwork Reduction
Act of 1995.
DATES: All comments should be
submitted within 30 calendar days from
the date of this publication.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are
invited to submit written comments
regarding the proposed information
collection to the Office of Information
and Regulatory Affairs, Office of
Management and Budget, 725 7th Street
NW., Washington, DC 20543. Attention:
Desk Officer for NASA.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Requests for additional information or
copies of the information collection
instrument and instructions should be
directed to Lori Parker, NASA Clearance
Officer, NASA Headquarters, 300 E
Street SW., JF0000, Washington, DC
20546 or email Lori.Parker-1@nasa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
SUMMARY:
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III. Data
Title: Property Inventory Report—
Grants with Educational and Nonprofit
Entities (formerly titled NASA
Inventory Report: Property Management
& Control, Grants).
OMB Number: 2700–0047.
Type of Review: Extension of a
currently approved collection.
Affected Public: Educational
institutions and not-for-profit
institutions.
Estimated Number of Respondents:
238.
Estimated Time per Response: 8.33
hours.
Estimated Total Annual Burden
Hours: 1,983 hours.
Estimated Total Annual Cost:
$67,552.
IV. Request for Comments
Comments are invited on: (1) Whether
the proposed collection of information
is necessary for the proper performance
of the functions of NASA, including
whether the information collected has
practical utility; (2) the accuracy of
NASA’s estimate of the burden
(including hours and cost) of the
proposed collection of information; (3)
ways to enhance the quality, utility, and
clarity of the information to be
collected; and (4) ways to minimize the
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 187 (Thursday, September 28, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45318-45321]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-20847]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORPORATION
[MCC FR 17-05]
Notice of Entering Into a Compact With the Federal Democratic
Republic of Nepal
AGENCY: Millennium Challenge Corporation.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In accordance with Section 610(b)(2) of the Millennium
Challenge Act of 2003 (22 U.S.C. 7701-7718), as amended, and the
heading ``Millennium Challenge Corporation'' of the Department of
State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act,
2017, the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) is publishing a
summary of the Millennium Challenge Compact between the United States
of America, acting through MCC, and the Republic of Nepal.
Representatives of MCC and Nepal signed the compact on September 14,
2017. The complete text of the compact has been posted at: https://assets.mcc.gov/content/uploads/compact-nepal.pdf.
Dated: September 25, 2017.
Jeanne M. Hauch,
Vice President and General Counsel, Millennium Challenge Corporation.
Summary of the Nepal Compact
Overview of MCC Nepal Compact
MCC's Board of Directors has approved a five-year, $500 million
compact with Nepal aimed at reducing poverty through economic growth.
The compact seeks to assist Nepal in addressing two binding constraints
to economic growth: (i) Inadequate supply of electricity; and (ii) high
cost of transportation. The compact will address these binding
constraints by investing in two projects: The Electricity Transmission
Project and the Road Maintenance Project.
Background and Context
Nepal's economic growth, labor productivity, and gross domestic
product per capita are among the lowest
[[Page 45319]]
in South Asia. A decade of civil and political unrest from 1996 to 2006
continues to shape the social, economic, and political landscape of the
country. The people of Nepal continue to deal with the fallout from a
series of devastating earthquakes in 2015 that killed nearly 9,000
people and pushed an additional million below the poverty line. Almost
half a million people leave the country each year for economic
opportunities elsewhere. In September 2017, Nepal will hold the final
phase of a three-phase local, democratic election in hundreds of
municipalities throughout the country. These local elections are the
first in 20 years and the first to be held since Nepal ratified its
constitution in 2015, a critical step in continuing to foster
transparency and accountability in government.
The proposed compact is designed to address the underlying causes
of two binding constraints to Nepal's growth: Inadequate supply of
electricity and high cost of transportation. Nepal suffers from the
worst electricity shortages in South Asia, and new investment in
Nepal's electricity sector is critical to achieve economic growth. Only
half of the demand for electricity can be met by the nation's grid,
which has resulted in load-shedding of up to 18 hours a day during the
dry winter months when hydropower generation is low. The constraints to
growth analysis found that the low availability of electricity creates
significant costs for businesses that must run generators on expensive
imported fuel. The availability of electricity is further reduced by
Nepal's constrained ability to import power when needed and the high
level of losses in transmission and distribution system.
The transportation sector has also suffered from Nepal's past
political instability, inadequate investment, weak planning, and poor
project execution. These factors have contributed to poor road quality,
inefficient customs and border enforcement, an inefficient trucking
industry, and inadequate road coverage. The Government of Nepal
recognizes that investments in this sector are needed to reduce
transportation costs and promote economic growth.
Compact Overview and Budget
After MCC selected Nepal as eligible for threshold program
assistance in December 2011, MCC and the Government of Nepal conducted
a constraints to growth analysis. When MCC's Board of Directors
selected Nepal as eligible to develop a compact in December 2014, MCC
and the Government of Nepal used the analysis completed for the
threshold program to develop the proposed compact.
MCC and Nepal identified four binding constraints and agreed to
focus the proposed compact on the two best suited for MCC's assistance:
The inadequate supply of electricity and the high cost of
transportation. The proposed compact seeks to address the selected
constraints by investing in two projects: the Electricity Transmission
Project and the Road Maintenance Project.
Nepal is already undertaking significant investments in the
generation and distribution portions of the power sector value chain.
The proposed Electricity Transmission Project therefore seeks to
strengthen the transmission portion of the value chain, which has been
weakened by historic underinvestment and poor implementation. The
Electricity Transmission Project plans to add approximately 300
kilometers to the high-voltage transmission backbone inside Nepal,
complete the Nepal portion of the second cross-border transmission line
with India for increased electricity trade, and provide technical
assistance aimed at improving the sustainability of Nepal's power
sector. The compact will also support Nepal's establishment of an
independent and capable power sector regulator, which is essential for
maintaining open, non-discriminatory access to a transmission network
with transparent pricing and clear rules of engagement.
The Road Maintenance Project focuses on improving Nepal's road
maintenance regime by providing technical assistance to key actors
within the transportation sector. The Road Maintenance Project also
includes an incentive-matching fund to encourage the expansion of
Nepal's road maintenance budget, in addition to the periodic
maintenance of up to 305 kilometers of the country's strategic road
network.
The following summary describes the components of Nepal's compact.
The MCC investment for the compact is $500 million, with an additional
$130 million committed by Nepal to support the compact program.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total
Component (millions $)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Electricity Transmission Project..................... 398.2
1.1 Transmission Lines Activity..................... 228.2
1.2 Substation Activity............................. 114.0
1.3 Power Sector Technical Assistance Activity...... 22.4
1.4 Project Management Activity..................... 33.6
2. Roads Maintenance Project............................ 52.3
2.1 Technical Assistance Road Maintenance Reform.... 7.1
2.2 Strategic Road Maintenance Works................ 45.2
3. Monitoring and Evaluation............................ 9.5
3.1 Monitoring and Evaluation Activities............ 9.5
4. Program Administration and Oversight................. 40.0
4.1 MCA-Nepal Program Administration................ 23.4
4.2 Fiscal Agent, Procurement Agent, Audit.......... 16.6
---------------
Total MCC Contribution.......................... 500.0
Government of Nepal Contribution............ 130.0
---------------
Total Program Investment................ 630.0
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[[Page 45320]]
Nepal Compact Budget
Project Summaries
The Electricity Transmission Project: The objective of this project
is to spur economic activity and growth by improving the availability
and reliability of electricity supply in Nepal's power grid, thus
increasing per capita electricity consumption. This project includes
four activities:
Transmission Lines Activity. This activity will focus on
the construction of an estimated 300 kilometers of high voltage
transmission lines in Nepal, providing a vital missing link to the
existing high voltage grid. Most of the proposed transmission lines
traverse mountainous terrain, starting near the Kathmandu Valley,
moving to the west and then southwest to the Indian border. The
particular lines were selected following careful analyses and
feasibility studies that weighed their technical and economic merit,
their importance in meeting Nepal's medium and long term electricity
supply goals, and their consistency with Nepal's domestic and cross
border transmission investment plans. The transmission line route was
selected to minimize impact on people and sensitive geographic areas,
to the extent possible. Moreover, the activity includes funding for
certain community benefit-sharing activities in order to further
mitigate potential social impacts from construction of the transmission
lines. Potential activities include rural electrification through off-
grid solutions and community empowerment programs.
Substations Activity. This activity is complementary to
the Transmission Lines Activity. The proposed compact contemplates
constructing three substations. In combination with the transmission
lines, these substations would help evacuate and transmit power
collected from three major river basins where large hydropower projects
are under construction by investors, many of which are private. The
substation near Butwal would be the starting point for the transmission
line to the Indian border and power grid.
Power Sector Technical Assistance Activity. This activity
seeks to strengthen the proposed power sector regulator (Electricity
Regulatory Commission) to help bring transparency, efficiency, and
competition to the power sector. The activity would help Nepal embed
experts within the Electricity Regulatory Commission to improve the
skills of this nascent agency in areas such as rule-making, dispute
resolution, and economic and technical regulation. This activity would
also help the Nepal Electricity Authority improve its transmission
operations and prepare for oversight from the new independent
electricity regulator. This will help establish a regulatory cost
recovery system, improved grid operations, and better power system
planning within the Nepal Electricity Authority.
Program Management and Technical Oversight Activity. This
activity is designed to complement the Transmission Lines and
Substation Activities by supporting project management, environmental
and social impact assessment, and engineering and technical
supervision. This will allow the compact to properly implement the
proposed infrastructure investments while complying with MCC's
technical, environmental, and social standards.
The Road Maintenance Project: The objective of this project is to
avoid future increases in transportation costs across Nepal's road
network by preventing further deterioration of maintained roads and to
improve the administration of road maintenance. This project has two
activities:
Technical Assistance Activity. This activity is planned to
build capacity for the Department of Roads and Roads Board Nepal in (1)
improved data collection; (2) preparation of appropriate road
maintenance plans and cost estimates; (3) improved prioritization of
periodic maintenance; (4) improved contracting and contracting
management; and (5) improved project management.
Strategic Road Maintenance Works Activity. This activity
seeks to complement and build upon the Technical Assistance Activity by
incentivizing additional government spending on road maintenance. The
activity would establish a matching fund to provide $2 for every $1
Nepal spends above its current average annual amount for road
maintenance, up to a total of $15 million annually for three years. The
activity would additionally provide for the physical maintenance of an
initial 305 kilometers out of the 2,000 kilometers of Nepal's strategic
road network.
Economic Analysis
The proposed Electricity Transmission Project has an estimated
economic rate of return of 12 percent. The investment in Nepal's
transmission system is expected to affect all grid-connected consumers,
which represent 72 percent of Nepali households. With a projected
population in 2024 of 31.5 million people, an estimated 23 million
individual beneficiaries living in five million households are expected
to benefit from this project. Fifty-two percent of the potential
beneficiaries are estimated to be female.
The estimated economic rate of return for the Road Maintenance
Project is 29 percent. The 305 kilometers of roads proposed by Nepal
for periodic maintenance under the compact are spread across five road
segments in five geographic areas. The Project is expected to benefit
approximately 924,000 people in 205,000 households.
MCC anticipates that there will be overlap in the beneficiaries of
the two proposed projects and thus ultimately expects the compact to
benefit approximately 23 million individuals.
Policy Reforms and the Compact
MCC will require certain conditions to entry into force of the
compact in order to ensure sustainability of compact investments. For
example, given the proposed compact's focus and the clear need for a
second cross-border transmission connection with India, MCC will
require that technical and financial arrangements for the construction
of the complementary investment in India be finalized before entry into
force of the compact. This requirement is expected to be further
strengthened through conditions regarding the Nepal portion of the
cross-border transmission line that must be met for certain compact
disbursements.
The proposed compact includes several key reform elements,
supported by technical assistance activities in each project. The Power
Sector Technical Assistance Activity includes conditions to help Nepal
create a transparent and efficient electricity market. MCC believes
that the establishment of the Electricity Regulatory Commission as an
independent and capable regulator is essential for maintaining open,
non-discriminatory access to a transmission network with transparent
pricing and clear rules of engagement for all power market
participants, particularly investors in generation projects. The
compact proposes to increase the utility's planning, operations, and
cost recovery mechanisms to help ensure the sustainability of the
proposed investments. Strengthening the utility's transmission
operations should ensure its viability if Nepal decides to spin off or
merge those operations with an independent transmission company. MCC
has conditioned the entry into force of the compact on satisfactory
progress toward parliamentary approval of a bill to establish the
Electricity Regulatory Commission. Further, funding for the Power
Sector Technical Assistance Activity will only be provided if the
Electricity Regulatory
[[Page 45321]]
Commission bill has been passed by the Nepali parliament.
For the Technical Assistance Activity in the Road Maintenance
Project, MCC will provide compact funding for maintenance works only if
Nepal increases its own historically low spending levels on road
maintenance. The compact is expected to incentivize Nepal to increase
its spending for road maintenance significantly by making MCC funding
conditioned on increased Nepal spending.
[FR Doc. 2017-20847 Filed 9-26-17; 11:15 am]
BILLING CODE 9211-03-P
