Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Bhim Acharya has said the government would soon initiate construction of the Pokhara Regional International Airport
Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Bhim Acharya has said the government would soon initiate construction of the Pokhara Regional International Airport, which has been in limbo for a long time. Despite being a national pride project, the bidding process of the airport construction has been obstructed due to various reasons.
Currently, the construction process is said to be delayed due to difference in bidding system of two countries—Nepal and China. Acharya said the government would identify and implement alternatives to resolve the problems that had arisen due to the technical issues. “Talks are on to decide whether to review the rate,” Acharya said. “If necessary, we will go into rebidding.”
“The file related to the airport construction were making rounds between the ministries and Cabinet. It is with the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) now,” said Acharya, referring to the anti-graft body’s move to check on possible irregularities in the project.
Speaking at the 12th annual general meeting of Pokhara Tourism Council on Monday, Acharya urged the CIAA either to send back the file or suggest an appropriate measure. “It is an issue of national interest,” he said.
After the Chinese government agreed to provide soft loan for the airport construction, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) on February 9, 2012 invited tenders from interested bidders, estimating the project cost at $145 million. But when the lowest bid—$305 million—that came from Chinese Company CAMC, the project failed to take off.
Meanwhile, Acharya claimed that the low estimated cost was the result of the CAAN’s faulty design on the proposed airport. “The CAAN’s previous estimation did not include the cost of constructing concrete runway and taxi lane. It should be higher than the one initially estimated,” he said, adding that the government would soon determine a suitable cost for the project construction.
A committee formed by CAAN to revise the cost has also advised to resolve the contract issue under the $215.9 million threshold. A committee’s report has also pointed out the difference in the modalities as the principal cause for the legal and technical problem. “The government adopted the policy of Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) model, but implemented the build, own, operate and transfer (BOOT model,” states the report.
The government had acquired 3,106 ropanies of land for the airport construction about three decades ago.
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