January 31, 2017- Kathmandu
–Tamish Giri
After ignorance of Spanish Construction Company to the inquiry of CAAN, the global tender for the reconstruction and extension of TIA has been extended at least for a month.
Sanjose, the Spanish renovator of TIA had been awarded the tender three years back through the global tender for maintenance of the international airport.
Since the company couldn’t finish its job in the specified time, CAAN had to dissolve the contract on 24th of Mangsir last year.
CAAN and Tourism Ministry had decided to appeal for the tender by second week of Magh this year but due to Sanjose’s ignorance to CAAN’s inquiry about the company’s pending construction equipment at TIA had led to push the tender for a month.
“CAAN had requested Sanjose for the detailed information regarding its pending construction equipment at TIA from the day oftermination of the contract but the company hasn’t replied the query yet.” reported the Deputy Director of CAAN, Birendra Prasad Shrestha.
Deputy Director mentioned that Sanjose’s ignorance has directly resulted to delay on the authority’s process for appealing new tender.
CAAN had also granted fourteen day extension to Sanjose to come with the actual reason for the delay of construction process.
This information was forwarded to their Kathmandu, Delhi and Spain based offices. Since the company didn’t respond to the query, CAAN then decided to complete the remaining part of work itself.
According to CAAN, Sanjose were granted the tender to complete infrastructure of international operations including parking bay, extension of taxiway, soil filling of northern region and 300 meter extension of runway at southern part.
Sanjose had agreed to complete the task within two years period but were only able to finish around seventeen percent of the task by the agreement period.
The company had claimed earthquake and Indian blockage to be the specific reason for delay in the process of construction.
CAAN had also excused the reason and extended the contract till third week of Chaitra last year.
CAAN and Sanjose had signed the contract treaty in 2013. According to the agreement, Sanjose had to complete their task by March of 2015.
Currently, CAAN is working on the procedure to draft a tender for development of both national and international terminals at TIA.
After the accomplishment of the construction phase, TIA would be able to land bigger jets resulting in increase of air passengers to sixty hundred thousand annually.
Ninety trillion of Nepalese currency needs to be invested for completing the construction.
TIA currently conducts hundred daily flights with twenty nine international airlines from fourteen different countries.
