Built Through Grit: From Rs 22 to a Construction Legacy

At 18, Hari Prasad Pandey sold three muri of millet — nearly 200 kilograms — to fund his journey from his village in Kavre to Kathmandu and support himself in the capital. With only Rs 22 in his pocket, he left home determined to build a better future.

The journey to the capital in the mid-2010s BS, a time when Kathmandu was often simply referred to as “Nepal” by villagers outside the Valley, cost him 50 paisa.

Born in 1998 BS in Shyampati of Kavre to a farming family, Pandey lost his father at an early age. His struggles deepened after arriving in Kathmandu, where he spent his first two years working as a domestic help.

At the age of 21, he entered the construction business with eight friends, each contributing Rs 1,000. What began as “Nepal Adarsha Nirman Company Sewa” would eventually grow into one of Nepal’s longstanding construction firms.

“Initially, it was Nepal Adarsha Nirman Company Sewa,” Pandey, now in his eighties, says.

But, his partners gradually left the business. Nepal Adarsha Nirman Company was formally registered under his proprietorship on May 3, 1970. According to the company’s website, it was later converted into a private limited company on October 3, 1996.

The company went on to undertake major government infrastructure projects across the country.

At the time, the state-owned National Construction Company was leading infrastructure development using Israeli technology. Pandey worked as a subcontractor on several of its projects, gaining valuable technical and managerial experience.

The National Construction Company later collapsed amid political interference among other reasons. But Pandey used the experience to strengthen his own company and establish himself in Nepal’s emerging private construction sector.

Over nearly six decades, Nepal Adarsha Nirman Company has completed numerous projects involving roads, bridges, irrigation systems, drainage networks, drinking water facilities, auditoriums and buildings.

“There will be hurdles. But if one is determined to struggle, solutions emerge,” Pandey says.

His legacy extends beyond construction.

His son, Birendra Raj Pandey, who once helped manage company accounts while still in school, now serves as president of the Confederation of Nepalese Industries.

According to Birendra Raj Pandey, what distinguished his father most was discipline.

“I never saw my father wasting time,” he says. “Wherever we lived in the Kathmandu Valley, he would visit the Pashupatinath Temple every day. He was equally strict regarding food. He avoided eating outside food.”

Until five years ago, Hari Prasad Pandey continued to follow the same daily routine and lived a proactive life. But the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic left him with multiple health complications.

Pandey’s story is not merely the story of an entrepreneur. It is the story of a man who turned hardship into opportunity through labour, discipline and perseverance. It is also the story of an institution that helped lay part of the foundation for Nepal’s infrastructure development.

Over the decades, his work has generated employment for thousands and contributed to projects across the country.

In recognition of his lifelong contribution to Nepal’s infrastructure sector, Hari Prasad Pandey was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement in Business Leadership Award at the 10th NewBiz Conclave & Business Excellence Awards 2026 held in Kathmandu on Friday, May 8.