For the second time, the office of the Board of Investment has asked for a proposal to study the feasibility of operating electric buses within the ring road of Kathmandu. Canceling the letter of intent previously calle
d for the feasibility study for the development, operation, and management of the Ring Path Electric Bus Rapid Transit (EBRT) project, the Investment Board's office has asked for a letter of intent for the second time.
Earlier, a 35-day notice was issued for the feasibility study of the project to submit the letter of intent by the 26th of December. According to the office of the investment board, the notice of the demand for the letter of intent was issued for the second time after some companies made a physical proposal on the letter of intent requested at that time. Nisha Tripathi, Engineer of the Board of Investment, informed that the notification regarding the letter of intent issued by the Board of Investment had to be canceled after it was different from the
provision in the public procurement guidelines.
"Based on the previous information, some proposers brought a hard copy of the proposal for registration. The Board of Investment is also registered. But after the evaluation committee said that it was not in accordance with the existing law and public procurement guidelines, the letter of intent was requested for the second time", said Engineer Tripathi. He said that since the letter of intent was requested through an electronic medium (e-bidding), the proposal should also come through electronic means, so the previous proposal was canceled and a new proposal was invited.
The office of the board has informed us that 13 proposals were submitted for the feasibility study of the project. Bard had decided to cancel the previous letter of intent on January 18th, but on Sunday it asked for another letter of intent.
For the second time also, the notice has been issued within 35 days time. According to the details of the project provided by the board's office, the feasibility study should be completed within 18 months to create a separate lane for electric bus operation on 27.3 km of the ring road and prepare the necessary infrastructure.
For this project, the board said that it will raise investment in the public-private partnership (PPP) concept and proceed with the construction-operation and transfer model (boot model). According to the details of the project, the possibility of making two dedicated lanes of seven to eight meters wide will be studied to operate 70 to 75 electric buses on the ring road.
Similarly, it is mentioned that
electric bus operation will be studied to make 26 to 30 bus terminals, 30 charging stations, and other infrastructure. The government will acquire the right-of-way land to create a dedicated lane for electric vehicles, and the government will also take responsibility for the safety of the project.
