Kathmandu- MCA Nepal, the entity established under the Ministry of Finance to execute the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) agreement, has questioned due to significant delays in project execution.

Despite being created to accelerate development, its performance has fallen short of expectations, frustrating government officials, including the Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel.

Operating at an annual cost exceeding Rs 600 million, MCA Nepal was expected to fast-track infrastructure development. However, six months into the current fiscal year, it has spent only Rs 200 million in capital expenditure. Even the Rs 2.9 billion allocated for land acquisition remains largely unutilized, further stalling progress.

Although MCA Nepal has a capital budget exceeding Rs 13 billion for the fiscal year and has floated a second tender for transmission line construction, land acquisition is yet to be completed. The delays in clearing basic project hurdles have raised doubts about the necessity of a separate institution, especially when its performance is no better than other government agencies handling similar projects.

The Finance Minister has recently  expressed particular dissatisfaction with MCA Nepal's Executive Director Khadga Bahadur Bisht during recent high-level meeting over inability to implement the budget effectively.

A source who attended that meeting noted, 'The minister had concerns about several agencies, but since MCA Nepal is directly linked to major infrastructure projects, it received special attention.'

The MCC-funded project was intended to serve as a model for Nepal’s infrastructure development and enhance institutional capacity. However, its sluggish implementation has led to widespread criticism, with many questioning whether a separate mechanism is truly necessary when its pace remains as slow as that of regular government projects.