Regional International Airport: Govt team heads to China for airport talks
KATHMANDU, SEP 27 -
A government team led by Secretary of the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Civil Aviation Yajna Prasad Gautam left for Beijing on Wednesday to resolve complications in the proposed regional international airport in Pokhara.
Gautam is accompanied by Director General of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) Tri Ratna Manandhar, Chief of Airport Improvement Project Punya Raj Shakya and an official from the Ministry of Finance.
Works on the project have stalled after the lowest bidder quoted 85.5 percent higher than the government’s estimated cost. Since then, Pokhara locals have been staging a string of strikes for several weeks to pressure the government to take a decision immediately.
On September 17, Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai had informed the agitating locals of Pokhara that the government will send a high-level Nepali delegation to Beijing saying that some procedural complexities has barred the government to take a concrete decision on the project. He informed the locals that the issue needed to be resolved through bilateral negotiation.
Similarly, Tourism Minister Post Bahadur Bogati on Tuesday reiterated that the airport project cannot be initiated under the existing circumstances, saying that it would only be possible through a new process. The project has been in limbo since 1989.
Sources said that confusion over the airport model and bidding system has complicated things and the visiting Nepali delegation will discuss on possible measures to resolve complexity with China’s Ministry of Transport as well as the Exim Bank of China.
The Tourism Ministry has been in a dilemma after the lowest bidder, a Chinese company, quoted $305 million for the project as against the government estimate of $170 millio-$180 million.
The government plans to burrow loans from the Exim Bank to develop the project. The bank has pledged soft loans for the project. On February 9, 2012, CAAN had invited bids for the execution of the project under the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) model, and extended the deadline twice following the intervention by the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority.
The government was scheduled to sign a loan agreement with the Exim Bank on August 20 after selecting a contractor. However, the project ran into controversy over its spiralling cost.
The government and the Japan International Cooperation Agency conducted a detailed study for the project in 1989. It had proposed a runway 2,500m long and 50m wide, a terminal and a cargo building. Construction of the airport, which was expected to be completed in four years, was estimated to cost of $39.6 million at the time.
Meanwhile, all flights to and from Pokhara were affected for four hours on Wednesday. The private airlines did not operate any flights from 8:00 am to 12:00 pm although the Airlines Operators Association of Nepal on Tuesday decided to defy strikes. Airline officials said they had operated flights by avoiding strike hours making changes to their regular schedules.
Source: The Kathmandu Post
