Kathmandu, 01 November (HS). The Chinese company building the international airport in Pokhara has been raided on charges of corruption. After the raid, the bank accounts of the employees working there have been sealed. The raid has been conducted after there was strong evidence of continuous financial irregularities as well as substandard work in the company.
The ‘Akhtiyar Misuse Research Commission’, which investigates the corruption case in Nepal, has confirmed the raid on the office of Pokhara Airport on Tuesday. Commission spokesperson Bhola Dahal said that the office of CAMC Engineering, the Chinese company that constructed Pokhara Airport, has been raided. He said that the raid has been conducted after there was strong evidence of continuous financial irregularities as well as sub-standard work in the company.
In fact, there were continuous complaints being received about commission being demanded in giving the work of Pokhara Airport to small contractors and commission being demanded in lieu of payment for old works. During the investigation, the team of Abuse Research Commission has also taken with itself the file related to the quality of construction. Pokhara Airport, which was inaugurated on January 1, 2023, has had to turn back planes midway due to several problems with its radar and VHF system. Similarly, complaints of malfunction in many other equipment installed in the airport are also being received.
Commission spokesperson said that after the raid, a letter has been sent to the concerned banks to seal the bank accounts of the Chinese and Nepali employees working in the company. A total of US$ 244 million has been spent so far on the construction of Pokhara Airport built on EPC model. For this, Nepal government has taken a loan of 137.87 crore yuan from Exim Bank of China. China has many times claimed this airport to be a BRI project, while the Nepal government has always denied this.
Even after the completion of the construction of Pokhara Airport for almost a year, the interest on the loan taken from China has not been paid by Nepal yet. For this, continuous pressure is being exerted from China. Despite having an international airport, regular international flights have not been operated till now. China is continuously putting pressure on Nepal to take the responsibility of operating this airport.
Hindustan News/Pankaj Das/Suneet
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