Rs 14 billion corruption uncovered in construction of Pokhara Airport

Probe panel recommends suspension of CAAN chief Adhikari

KATHMANDU, April 18: A parliamentary sub-committee under the Public Accounts Committee has concluded that over Rs 14 billion was misappropriated during the construction of Pokhara International Airport.

The probe panel, formed under the coordination of Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) Chairman and lawmaker Rajendra Lingden, submitted its report identifying large-scale corruption in the project. According to sub-committee member and Nepali Congress (NC) lawmaker Arjun Narsingh KC, the airport construction process was riddled with irregularities from the initial bidding stages.

The report states that policy-level decisions were used as a cover to systematically loot public funds. Both financial and technical irregularities were observed throughout the construction period, the report notes.

The sub-committee found that tax exemptions totaling Rs 2.22 billion were repeatedly granted through new implementation agreements, resulting in illegal payments. Of this, Rs 2.20 billion was reportedly paid unlawfully, according to the findings.

The report is being prepared for presentation in a full meeting of the Public Accounts Committee.

The government had signed a loan agreement with China's Exim Bank to borrow Rs 25.88 billion (equivalent to 1.33 billion Chinese Yuan) at a high-interest rate for the airport’s construction. The agreement was signed on March 21, 2016, and construction began in January 2017. The airport was officially inaugurated on January 1, 2023, but remains partially operational even 27 months after inauguration.

Panel seeks suspension of CAAN Chief Adhikari

The parliamentary subcommittee formed to probe the Pokhara Regional International Airport (PRIA) project has also recommended the immediate suspension of Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) Director General Pradeep Adhikari to facilitate investigation into alleged irregularities.

Adhikari served as the project chief of the airport from 2014/15 to 2017/18 and has been CAAN's Director General since January 2022. The panel has also called for investigations into former CAAN chiefs Sanjiv Gautam and Rajan Pokharel.

Others recommended for investigation include current and former officials involved in the project such as Binesh Munakarmi, Chandamala Shrestha, Prabin Neupane, Rajendra Prasad Paudel and Baburam Paudel.