Chandika Bhatta has been appointed the new Executive Director of Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC). The cabinet meeting on Sunday (February 18, 2024) selected him to lead the corporation, communication minister and government spokesperson Rekha Sharma said.
The former executive director Umesh Prasad Thani had resigned before his term’s natural conclusion leading the government to find a candidate for the position.
Bhatta is a familiar name within the government enterprise. An engineer by studies, Bhatta has witnessed some monumental changes during his previous tenure. While serving as the executive director at NOC, automatic fuel pricing was implemented on September 29, 2014 (Ashoj 13, 2071). But since there was a cross-subsidy in place, it couldn’t bear the fruit. Therefore, automatic fuel pricing was implemented to effect from September 01, 2023.
Bhatta also held a position as the executive director for Special Economic Zones (SEZ). He is still serving in this position. He has a Ph.D. from Ehime University, Japan, and attained a Master’s in technology from the Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand.
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The government had received applications from 13 candidates to lead the corporation. The recommendation committee recommended three candidates- Dr. Dolprasad Chapagain, Shatrughan Pudasaini, and Chandika Bhatta.
Bhatta will now lead Nepal Oil Corporation for a four-year term from its head office in Babarmahal, Kathmandu.