Presenting mid-term review of the budget on Sunday, Finance Minister Barsha Man Pun said the budget failed to speed up capital spending despite arranging sufficient budget for crucial projects.
The government had ensured sufficient fund to National Pride Projects and Priority One (P1) projects. It had also made arrangement to provide matching fund for projects run under foreign assistance.
“Despite these attempts, the mid-term review shows capital expenditure could not go up as expected,” said Pun.
The government managed to spend only Rs 104.12 billion in the first half -- Rs 86.90 billion in regular expenditure and Rs 7.66 billion in capital expenditure -- during the period.
“Total expenditure recorded during the period is 29.59 percent of the total allocation made in the budget ordinance,” said Pun.
Keeping in view the weak capital spending, Pun urged concerned officials to become more active in limiting recurrent expenditure and driving up capital expenditure for the remainder of the fiscal year.
He, however, praised officials and private sector for extending support to the government in the task of managing public expenditure and mobilizing revenue.
During the review period, bank and financial institutions (BFIs) reported a rise in deposit mobilization and internal loan disbursement by 5.3 percent and 6.1 percent respectively. However, their liquidity declined by 15.1 percent compared to the figures recorded in the same period last year.
Total exports from Nepal rose by 9.3 percent to Rs 39.25 billion, while imports shot up by whopping 25.2 percent to Rs 271.30 billion during the period.
The government succeeded to mobilize Rs 134.56 billion in revenue in the review period, up by 21.2 percent compared to the amount reported during the same period last year.
Similarly, the government received commitment for financial assistance worth Rs 15.76 million, which includes Rs 14.5 billion as grant and Rs 1.71 billion as loan, from donors in the first half of 2012/13.
Inflation during the period stood at 10.7 percent.
Minister Pun also informed that the government widened roads spanning 35.9 km roads in Kathmandu Valley during the review period. With this, the total length of roads expanded under the government´s recent widening drive has so far reached 102 km. Similarly, the government has completed track opening works on 13 km segment, graveling on 4 km segment and constructing four bridges along western section of Mid-Hill Highway - one of the national pride projects. So far, the government has constructed 23 bridges and black-topped 18 km stretch on the eastern section of the highway.
Likewise, the government has completed track opening works on 6 km stretch of the proposed Kathmandu-Tarai Fast Track and distributed compensation to owners of 60 hectares of land covered by the proposed Jainagar-Janakpur-Bardibas Rail and Metro Development Project.
Key figures
Capital expenditure: Rs 7.66 billion
Regular expenditure: Rs 86.9 billion
Inflation: 10.7 percent
Revenue growth: 21.2 percent
Road expansion: 35.9 km in the valley
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