Floods on the Bhotekoshi: Nepal’s private sector bore most of the losses
In Nepal, a preliminary government assessment put the total damage and economic losses from the flash floods on the Bhotekoshi River on August 26 at 408 billion Nepalese rupees. More than two-thirds of this amount—nearly 300 billion rupees—fell on private businesses, households and privately owned infrastructure, Kathmandu Post reports.
The preliminary government assessment covers five districts: Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Dhading, Gorkha and Chitwan. Nepal’s National Planning Commission has launched a more detailed post-disaster needs assessment, which is expected to separately calculate public and private losses and determine reconstruction financing needs.
Business and energy losses
Nearly 4,800 enterprises sustained partial or complete damage. The commercial sector’s combined physical and economic losses were estimated at 146.19 billion rupees, while rebuilding commercial facilities is estimated to require 45.45 billion rupees. Hotels and restaurants were hit the hardest, with 1,259 establishments damaged. Losses were also recorded by 1,212 wholesale and retail businesses, 866 educational institutions and 263 manufacturing companies.
The floods damaged 13 hydropower projects and five solar power plants with a combined installed or under-construction capacity of 759 MW. Eight of the damaged hydropower projects are privately owned. Losses to hydropower and transmission infrastructure were estimated at 151 billion rupees, while restoring power plants and transmission lines was estimated at 390.62 billion rupees.
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Housing, agriculture and communications
In the five districts, 7,570 private homes were partially or completely damaged. The largest number of such homes was recorded in Nuwakot—3,977—followed by Rasuwa with 1,779 homes and Dhading with 1,451. Damage to the housing sector is estimated at 63.88 billion rupees, while its reconstruction may require nearly 95.82 billion rupees.
In the agricultural sector, about 1,806 hectares of arable land were affected. Crop losses were estimated at 1.09 billion rupees and livestock losses at 1.44 billion rupees; more than a thousand animals were reported dead. In addition, three Nepal Telecom towers and one Ncell tower were damaged, while losses in the telecommunications sector reached 628.7 million rupees.
The Nepalese government estimated total reconstruction needs at 723.31 billion rupees. The Cabinet of Ministers has already approved the first stage of a support package for affected businesses and industry, providing customs-duty exemptions for replacing destroyed commercial vehicles and freight transport, as well as tax breaks and financial support.
