Finance Minister Dr Ram Sharan Mahat urged entrepreneurs to set up manufacturing plants in the country to address growing demand of automobile.
“Entrepreneurs should think of at least starting assembling plant in Nepal,” Mahat said, inaugurating the NADA Auto Show 2014, here today.
“There has been significant growth in automobiles market over the past few years,” he said, adding that opening of assembly plants in the country would stop outflow of fund and contribute to national economy.
Responding to the demands of import tax reduction on vehicles and spare parts, Mahat said it was a compulsion to levy high tax on automobiles. “It is from the revenue collected from automobile sector that the government has been building new roads and standardising existing roads,” he said, adding that the finance ministry had suggested to the Department of Roads and Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport to bring Public Transport Policy as soon as possible. “The new policy will be crucial for the development of domestic automobile sector.”
Claiming that public transportation system requires upgradation and standardisation, Mahat said that the country has 60,000-km road network that has also increased the demand for vehicles. “However, people’s living standard has to be improved to boost their purchasing power.”
The ninth edition of NADA Auto Show that is being jointly organised by Nepal Automobile Dealers’ Association (NADA) and Global Exposition and Management Services (GEMS) will last for five days.
President of NADA Shekhar Golchha asked the government to improve road network and reduce import duty to facilitate the automobile sector.
Golchha also urged the government to establish vehicle testing centres as soon as possible. “Number of accidents has been increasing in recent years also due to lack of vehicle testing centres,” he said, also urging the government to increase monitoring to check imports of fake spare parts.
The five-day event, which is being organized by NADA, showcases different brands of automobiles, tires and spare parts, and accessories. Around 50 national and international companies including 12 brands of four-wheelers, 13 brands of two-wheelers and one brand of three-wheeler are taking part in the annual auto show.
The mega show also showcases local and international brands including KTM, Mahindra, Fiat, Ford, Hyundai, Daihatsu, Kia, Nissan, Skoda, Suzuki, TATA, Toyota, Volkswagen, Bajaj, Ducati, Hero, Honda bike, TVS, Yamaha, Oreva, Royal Enfield, Terra Motors and Tricycle Bull.