Kathmandu, Nepal â As Nepal witnesses an unprecedented surge in infrastructure projectsâfrom the sprawling national pride projects to rural road expansionsâa critical bottleneck is threatening to slow progress: a strained and often unreliable supply chain for heavy machinery spare parts.
The issue is impacting construction companies, large and small, leading to costly project delays and increased operational expenses. The root causes, industry insiders say, are a complex mix of import dependency, logistical hurdles, and a fragmented market.
A Market Heavily Reliant on Imports
With no domestic manufacturing of major components for brands like Caterpillar, Komatsu, JCB, and Hitachi, Nepal is entirely dependent on imports. Parts primarily flow in from India, China, Thailand, and Japan. However, the journey from an international warehouse to a worksite in a remote district can be fraught with delays.
"Even a simple, non-critical part like a filter or a seal can take weeks to arrive if it's not in stock," said Mr. Arjun Karki, Project Manager for a major contractor working on a hydroelectric project in Sindhupalchowk. "For a major component like a final drive or hydraulic pump for an excavator, the downtime can run into months, costing us lakhs of rupees every day in idle machinery and labor."