April 30: Nepal’s economic growth is expected to drop to 2.27 percent in the current fiscal year against the government’s target of 8.5 percent, according to the data released by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS).

CBS projected a sharp decline in economic growth due to the impact of coronavirus on Nepal’s economy.

The country had achieved over 6 percent growth in the last three years due to the increase in infrastructural development triggered by the post-earthquake reconstruction.

According to the bureau, Nepal achieved economic growth of 6.75 percent in the last fiscal year while the growth was 6.35 percent in the previous year. The government was targeting a massive growth of 8.5 percent this year with the announcement of Visit Nepal 2020 campaign.

But the government’s target was shattered early in 2020 due to the drop in the number of tourists in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic that has infected more than 3 million persons and claimed over 200,000 lives worldwide.    

The tourism sector was the first to feel the heat of the pandemic while the subsequent lockdown to contain the spread of the virus on March 24 paralyzed the entire business activities across the country.

Besides tourism sector, hotels and restaurants, industries and construction sectors have also been badly affected by the measures taken to control the virus.

The coronavirus pandemic is expected to affect the service sector the most.

According to the CBS, Nepal will see contraction in outputs of at least five sectors – tourism and hotels; transportation and communication; manufacturing; mining; and construction.