FCAN INTRODUCTION

While contractors in Nepal, started with little help, training and organizational guidance, the sector today is quite established. The push to establish a representative association started in 1960, but there were many roadblocks. At that time, Nepal was governed under a party-less political system due to which establishing such an industry association was a challenge. However, following the restoration of a multiparty democratic system in 1990, the need to unite contractors professional skills under an organized structure was clearer and more possible than ever. The Contractors’ Associations of Nepal (CAN) was thus born in 1990.

As the organization grew, it was apparent that the work of development and its burden on Nepali contractors indicated a need to extend the structure of the organization. With this new need in sight, all of the federal iterations of the contractor’s association in Nepal were to develop united under a single forum, and the name and structure of this association was changed to Federation of Contractors’ Associations of Nepal (FCAN) in 1997. Till date there are more than 24,000 registered contractors in Nepal.

Construction as a sector has been flourishing, currently contributing to about 7% of Nepal’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). It currently employs 1.5 million people, generates job opportunities for not only unemployed but also underemployed and seasonal workers. Similarly, about 60% of the nation’s development budget is spent in construction sector. While the efforts of the Nepali government, to this sector has been largely limited to classifying the contractors and renewing their licenses annually, FCAN provides an important organizing framework and critical support to contractors working in the construction industry in Nepal.