E-Kantipur

POKHARA, AUG 24 -

The Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) on Thursday asked the Finance and Tourism ministries to furnish details of the bidding process on the proposed Regional International Airport in Pokhara within 24 hours. The anti-graft body has asked the finance ministry to submit the memorandum of understanding (MoU) that was signed with the Chinese contractor China CAMC Engineering Co.

Earlier, both the ministries had been given a week to furnish the original documents and other details.

“We had asked them to submit all the documents within a week, but they missed the deadline citing technical reasons. However, this time around, the commission has strongly asked them to provide the details within a day,” said Joint-Attorney General Badri Gautam, who is also looking after tourism affairs.

The ministries told the CIAA that they failed to translate the documents into Nepali due to the ongoing strike of the notary public.

Finance Minister Barsaman Pun was found to have signed an MoU with China CAMC Engineering Co on September 20, 2011 in his office. However, the deal was scrapped after the now defunct Public Accounts Committee intervened. Interestingly, CAMC is now the lowest bidder of the project.

However, Pun had recently said the government has scrapped all MoUs signed for different projects, including the Pokhara airport .

The CIAA further expressed serious concern over the high cost for the airport project. Although the government had estimated the project to cost as high as US$ 180 million, the bid it received from CAMC Engineering was US$ 305 million.

The project cost came as a shock to the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal and the Tourism Ministry.

In 1975, the government acquired more than 3,106 ropanis of land to build the airport.

 The government and the Japan International Cooperation Agency conducted a detailed study in 1989. The study has proposed a 2,500m long and 50m wide runway, a terminal and a cargo building for the airport.

Pressure on; flights halted

Pokhara locals on Thursday refused to sit for dialogue with a talks team comprising top-level bureaucrats. They have demanded a minister-level talks team.

According to them, only a high-level government panel can address their demand for the construction of the proposed Regional International Airport in the city. Meanwhile, all flights to and from Pokhara were halted on Thursday. The Airport Construction Stakeholders’ Committee has threatened to shut the Pokhara airport for an indefinite period from August 31.

Posted on: 2012-08-24 08:06

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