Kathmandu, Dec 23: Six years have passed since the commencement of the national pride Kathmandu-Tarai-Madhes Fast Track, the project has seen only 27 percent completion so far. The Chinese construction company hatching a plan is to blame for the delay.
On May 4, 2017, the Cabinet took a decision vesting in the Nepal Army the responsibility of the construction of the project. Following this, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ on May 28, 2017 laid the foundation stone for the project.
The Nepal Army started the construction from December 2017 with the completion deadline of December 2024. However, as the deadline nears, only 27.19 percent work has been completed so far, said the Kathmandu-Tarai-Madhes Fast Track project. A Chinese company is working as contractors in the project.
However, being ensured that the project will not be complete within the deadline, the Cabinet meeting on April 18, 2023 extended the deadline to March 2027. It seems that the Chinese company is trying to influence the contract of Rs 25 billion called for the construction of the 8-A and 9-B package of the fast track by the Nepal Army, which has been entrusted with the construction.
Taking advantage of the ‘legal loophole’ in the tender called by the army, some construction companies are lobbying to win the contract by influencing top government officials. Among them is Kalika Construction JV, the company of Rastriya Prajatantra Party lawmaker Bikram Pandey, who is said to be involved in corruption.
Kalika Construction did not pass the army’s evaluation. There is a legal provision in the Public Procurement Act that a company against which a corruption case is filed is not qualified for fighting for a contract. At that time, a case was sub-judice in a special court against Pandey, the owner of Kalika Construction, on charges of corruption in the Sikta Irrigation Project.
However, after the army kept Kalika Construction out of the process without consulting the Ministry of Defence as per the provisions of the law, the company approached the Public Procurement Review Committee for help.
As per Clause 65 (A) of the Public Procurement Regulations 2064, if a corruption case is filed against the construction company during the evaluation of the proposal by the evaluation committee, the related body has been directed to take necessary action according to the established procedure. An official of the Public Procurement Review Committee said the army had made a mistake by not responding on the matter.
Although the Special Court has acquitted Kalika Construction, the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has appealed against the company in the Supreme Court. CIAA officials have stressed that the construction company should be excluded from evaluation, saying the case is sub-judice in the Supreme Court.
The Ministry of Defence as per Clause 65 (A) (2 and 3) of the Regulations has directed the Army to follow the decision of the Public Procurement Review Committee on the matter of whether or not to include Kalika Construction JV.
According to sources, Kalika Construction submitted the bid at a cheaper rate than other contractors. The Army is said to be working to hand over the construction to the disqualified company in the technical evaluation through a different channel under the influence of various power groups.
The government assigned the construction of the fast tract to the army believing that the army would complete the construction on time and perform quality work. Kalika Construction is said to be effortful in delaying the construction by bringing in the Chinese company making the army controversial. Even earlier, the construction was affected due to the Chinese company. The project cost is estimated to be Rs 213 billion.
