Kathmandu: Investors have pledged to inject Rs 1 trillion in 31 big projects in the country.

According to the Investment Board Nepal (IBN), the aforementioned amount was the commitment that the board received from both domestic and foreign investors. The IBN works as a government agency to facilitate investment of Rs 6 billion or more. Similarly, it is also mandated to approve investments for the development of hydropower projects with a capacity of 200 MW or above.

IBN records show that of the total number of the pledged projects, 17 are related to hydropower production. According to the IBN CEO Sushil Bhatta, they expect to receive investments worth Rs 300 billion in the next three years.

With an aim to facilitate large investments in the country, the government established the IBN a decade ago. For this purpose, the board has been working as a nodal agency to facilitate investment via the public-private-partnership model.

The IBN in a decade of its establishment has approved investment worth Rs 833 billion. The investment amount that Nepal has been receiving however is far less than what it requires to achieve its development target.

According to an IBN report, Nepal needs an investment worth Rs 558 billion annually to achieve its targets of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.