NOC seeks Rs. 2b loan from govt.

Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) on Tuesday has asked for Rs. 2.07 billion loan from government to clear its dues and to maintain smooth supply of petroleum products in the country.

According to reports, Managing Director of NOC, Digambar Jha has already asked the Ministry of Finance for the loan. He has also proposed the government to revise the prices of petroleum products.

If the government endorses the proposal, consumers will have to pay Rs. 88 per liter from the present Rs. 80 for petrol.

Similarly, the NOC has proposed to make the prices of diesel and kerosene alike and to provide subsidy to the students and marginalized consumers.

The NOC proposal has also recommended limiting the existing state subsidy on cooking gas to one cylinder per family per month. If a family consumes more than one cylinder per month, the family has to get the other cylinders at the existing international price that will cost at around Rs. 1,430 per cylinder.

The NOC has been bearing a monthly loss of Rs. 1.67 billion. The monthly loss has increased due to the decision of the ruling seven party alliances not to hike the prices of the petroleum products before the Constituent Assembly (CA) polls.

The state-owned corporation's total loss stands at Rs. 13 billion and owes Rs. 2 billion to the IOC.

IOC, the sole supplier of petroleum products to Nepal, has been curtailing the supply of petroleum products in the past as the NOC failed to clear the dues on time.