The Investment Board Nepal (IBN) is carrying out a feasibility study for Electric Bus Rapid Transit (eBRT) on the Ring Road of Kathmandu Valley.
Giving a deadline of December 12, the IBN has called for Expression of Interest from interested firms to carry out a study for the development, operation and management of the transport project. For this purpose, any single firm or a joint-venture company can apply at the IBN office, according to the board.
The selected firm will have to complete the feasibility study of the eBRT project in 18 months from the date of signing a contract. The government is allocating a lane of Ring Road, which is undergoing the extension process, for the operation of electric buses.
The IBN has planned to construct the project under the public-private-partnership model. The private sector company will construct modern bus-stops and terminals and smart ticketing, among others.
The pre-feasibility study has estimated a cost of US $153 million (Rs 20.11 billion) to build the infrastructure that will be built under the BOOT model.
