Indian firms vie with U.S. company for Nepal project

Friday, 12 September 2003, 19:30 IST
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KATHMANDU: Two Indian firms along with a Nepali company are together bidding for a prestigious World Bank telecommunications project in the Himalayan kingdom. Telecommunications Consultants India Ltd (TCIL), Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd (VSNL) of India and Nepal Ventures Private Ltd (NVPL) are part of a consortium that this week became the first private operator in Nepal's telecommunication sector. They are now bidding for a rural telecommunication project that will cover 1,068 wards in 534 village development committee areas. They will apply for registration as a new company in Nepal if they get the project. TCIL and NVPL will hold 40 percent shares each with VSNL owning the remaining 20 percent. Their rival is California-based STM Wireless Inc, which has also worked in Nepal before. The project is to be awarded to the company asking for the least subsidy, has field experience and formal confirmation from a telecom operator. TCIL and its partners are asking for $11.11 million while STM Wireless has bid for $11.86 million. This week, TCIL in partnership with Nepal Ventures, VSNL and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd became the first private operator in Nepal to provide basic telephony services. The new company registered by the four partners, United Telecom Ltd (UTL), completed the project a month before schedule despite political uncertainty in Nepal and is expected to reduce costs by 20-25 percent. STM Wireless had filed a bankruptcy petition this February in the Californian bankruptcy court seeking approval of an asset sale. Subsequently, it reached an agreement-in-principle to sell all assets to Sloan Capital Partners. Earlier, STM Wireless was asked by Nepal Telecommunications Corporation to install 600 VSATs (very small aperture terminals) in rural areas. But the first batch of 60 units reportedly did not function. A senior NTC official attributed the problem to untrained manpower and said it was sending 12 engineers to California for training. The TCIL-led consortium says its equipment is from Israel, which requires low power supply. Using solar batteries, it can function without any power supply for two days, even on cloudy days. This should be an incentive as a large part of Nepal's rural areas does not have electricity. Nepal Telecom Authority, the state telecom regulator and licensor, is said to have sought a no objection certificate from the World Bank for awarding the project to STM Wireless. Indian Communications Minister Arun Shourie, who was in Kathmandu to inaugurate the UTL project, expressed hope in the presence of his Nepalese counterpart Kamal Thapa that the Indo-Nepal venture would win the project in fair, open bidding.
Source: IANS
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