NATIONAL7Spotlight Weekly)]

Success Story

Manakamana Cable Car is one of the few successful private-sector ventures in the country

By A CORRESPONDENT

When the Manakamana Darshan Private Limited (MDPL) opened the first-ever cable car in the country five years ago, few had imagined it would become so popular.

In fact, because of the cable car, there was a noticeable surge in domestic tourism. While previously few people used to visit Manakamana temple situated atop a steep hill, thousands of them flock there every week after the cable car made the journey quick and easy.

It used to take an average person more than two hours of tough walking to reach the temple of the wish-fulfilling goddess before the cable car reduced it to mere 10 minutes.

Manakamana temple : Center of faith

"The first ever cable car in the country has been established by the Manakamana Darshan Private Limited with the objective of providing safe, comfortable and easy journey for visitors and pilgrims to the Manakamana temple, which has special religious as well as natural significance," said Manoj Manandhar, sales and marketing officer of the MDPL.

The MDPL had constructed the cable car with technical assistance from Austrial Doppelmayer company. The cable car has a station by the side of Prithvi highway in Cheres, Kurintar from where it rises up the distance of 2.8 km in 10 minutes to reach atop the temple hill. Kurintar is located 104 km away from Kathmandu. Its network has 31 cable car cabins and three cabins that carry cargo.

At a time when the tourism sector in the country is facing problems from all sides, Manakamana cable car has been able to sustain itself fairly well.

One factor for its success could be the deep-seated faith among Nepalis in Goddess Manakamana. The goddess is known to fulfil the wishes of her devotees. King Prithvi Narayan Shah the Great, who founded modern Nepal, too, worshipped the goddess, whose temple is located in Gorkha district.

Besides, it is one of the heavily invested tourism projects that eye the domestic market. Domestic tourists are its mainstay while the number of foreign visitors, too, is growing in recent times. Many Indian Hindus make a pilgrimage to the temple.

"The cable car has not been affected to the extent others have been by the adverse incidents within and outside the country," said Manandhar. He claims that still thousands visit the temple using cable car everyday.

The exemplary success of the cable car proves that if a project is sound and well-planned, it can be successful even by depending solely on the domestic market. Encouraged by the success of its Manakamana venture, the company is planning to construct similar cable cars in places like Swargadwari in Pyuthan district. Whether the project takes off remains to be seen.

BANK MANAGEMENT CONTRACT
New Lease Of Life

After years of planning and a number of hitches, the government has finally handed over the management of state-owned Rastriya Banija Bank (RBB) to an American multinational consultancy firm.

The Deloitte Touche Tomatsu (DTT) bagged the contract for managing the largest commercial bank of the country. The World Bank has been pushing the Nepalese government for handing over the management of two commercial banks RBB and Nepal Bank Limited (NBL) to private parties. While RBB is fully owned by the

state, the government had sold its majority shares in NBL a couple of years ago.

Rajan Singh Bhandari, chief executive of systems department at Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) and Robert J. McPhel, a representative of the American firm, signed the agreement on behalf of the respective parties on January 31.

According to the agreement, the American consultancy firm will be taking over the charge of the management of the RBB for two years beginning next month. The government will have to pay Rs 450 million to the firm in return. This money will be provided to the government by the World Bank as loan.

Bhandari said that the firm has been requested to submit its management plan to the central bank within 45 days. "The central bank will monitor how it handles the management," he said.

The American firm will have a management team comprising five foreigners and three Nepalis. The firm has the experience of managing banks in 130 countries.

RBB and NBL suffer from poor management and weak financial state. Two years ago, a reputable international audit agency, KPMG Barents, had described both banks as almost bankrupt. Ever since, the move to hand over their management to private parties had gained momentum. Although, the process has materialized for RBB, there are still some hitches in achieving the same for NBL.