Termination of contract alarming Chinese Contractors

 Feb 27, 2017- Bhairahawa

The Gautam Buddha International Airport building contractor at Bhairahawa are under the risk of being disqualified from the project after being poked politically causing in deterioration of Chinese Contractors finance affecting its performance.

Chinese Contractor from Northwest Civil Aviation Airport Construction Group of China were bearing the responsibility for the completion of 30 percent of the physical infrastructure of the projected airport by the end of March. But after being poked the contractors are only able in compliance of 21 percent of the targeted responsibility till date.

Analyzing the contractor’s ongoing circumstances and performance they are highly unlikely to complete the targeted work by the March 30 deadline, according to the airport authority.

Om Prakash Sharma, chief of the Gautam Buddha International Airport Up-gradation Project reported on first 2017 Tripartite Portfolio Meeting of the Asian Development Bank conducted on Sunday that they have already issued notices precisely for four times to the Chinese contractor requesting to improve its performance, but nothing has changed yet.

The Chinese company was granted the contract for transforming Bhairahwa Domestic Airport to Lumbini International Airport in October 2014 by the Tourism and Civil Aviation Ministry.

 According to our source, the circumstances of ruining contractor’s performance all started soon after it appointed illegally a subcontractor without notifying the Sharma-led project execution agency. The firm, on the other hand, has refused to inform about the appointment of the subcontractor.

The subcontractor was enlarged by Nirvik Chitrakar (Khanal), son of former Prime Minister and senior CPN-UML leader Jhala Nath Khanal; Raju Gurung, a local goon and UML supporter; Furbha Sherpa, a UML-affiliated contractor; Shakti Dangol, a close relative of UML leader Khanal; and Manjit Rai, a UML cadre from Ilam, leader Khanal’s constituency.

The subcontractors were recruited to supply construction materials, manpower, fuel and heavy-duty vehicles for the construction. We were informed that the Chinese contractor had handed over the cheques to its subcontractors for the supply of construction materials without any paperwork. The subcontractor had hired workers and suppliers to provide construction materials along with fuel and heavy-duty vehicles at the early phase of the construction but then after, the subcontractor fled away forcing the Chinese company to cover the bill of the subcontractor.

Sharma said that they came to know about the issue around two months earlier when the Chinese contractor failed to deposit royalty to the District Development Committee for procurement of construction materials. He added that they had talked with the Chinese contractor regarding the issue. We were then subsequently notified that local suppliers hadn’t been paid as well.

The project execution agency has decided to release Rs100 million to protect the stressed contractor. But the sum is unlikely to fix the contractors issue. Project officials said that none of the local suppliers is willing to work with the bank robbed company whose previous bills have yet to be cleared.

All the ongoing circumstances are against the Chinese contractor resulting in the failure to meet the target set by the project execution agency. Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal officially announced that if the contractor fails to make significant improvements, the project execution agency will be issuing the additional notice to the contractor in April, which will serve as the final call for disqualification of contract.

Rs5.50 billion was quoted by the Chinese construction company to complete the project in different packages. They have already received Rs1.25 billion from the executing agency. But has only completed works worth Rs650 million, according to project officials.

The construction of the airport was targeted to be completed by the end of 2017 but shortages of fuel and building materials due to the months-long Tarai banda during 2015 has compelled for the delay of the up gradation works for six months and the new operation deadline was revised to June 2018.

Now analyzing the current ongoing circumstances of the Chinese Contractors, the transformation of the airport is expected to be pushed back to 2019.The project has been expected to serve the fast-rising business and industrial hub of Bhairahawa and support the international pilgrimage tourism to Lumbini, the birthplace of the Buddha.