Pokhara locals drop strike plan after govt assurance
KATHMANDU, AUG 31 -
Agitating locals of Pokhara have withdrawn their planned two-day strike scheduled to start on Friday after the government assured the airport stakeholders committee that the controversy over the proposed regional international airport would be settled within two weeks.
Speaking at a meeting with the committee on Thursday, Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Post Bahadur Bogati said that there were a number of complications in the process that needed to be dealt with through bilateral negotiations.
The airport project ran into controversy after the lowest bid for its construction was much higher than the government’s estimated cost. The government had estimated the project to cost US$ 180 million, but the lowest bid it received quoted a price of US$ 305 million.
The massive cost difference has attracted the scrutiny of opposition parties and the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority. However, Pokhara locals have charged that some anti-development activists were hatching a conspiracy against the project that has remained in limbo since 1975.
Among the three firms that have bid for the project, China CAMC Engineering Co has quoted the lowest price of US$ 305.13 million. Two other Chinese firms, Sinohydro Corporation and China International Water and Electric Corporation, quoted US$ 337.82 million and US$ 349.28 million respectively.
The government has planned to obtain soft loans of around US$ 145 million from the Export-Import Bank of China (Exim Bank) to fund the project.
“We were told by the minister that the Nepal government alone would not be able to resolve the issue, so the matter needed to be discussed with the Chinese government,” said Krishna Mohan Shrestha, president of Pokhara Chamber of Commerce and Industry, who headed the talks.
“As per the request of the ministry, we have decided to withdraw all our planned protests until the deadline asked by the government.”
According to Shrestha, who is also the coordinator of the committee, the minister has promised that the airport would be constructed at any cost. Earlier on Monday, Bogati had pledged that everything would be settled by Friday.
However, sources said that with Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai out of the country, Minister Bogati would not be able to decide anything.
Locals of Pokhara including private sector representatives have been protesting against the government for the last one month demanding a clear decision regarding the planned airport, which will be Pokhara’s second. They have been holding a relay hunger strike from last week to press the government to go ahead with the project.
Source: The Kathmandu Post
