The Investment Board (IB), entrusted to execute the project, preferred to go for the fresh bidding after Attorney General (AG) Mukti Pradhan and other experts suggested it shelve the previous initiative and restart the procedures again.[break]
The IB previously had prepared to handover the project to the Indian company Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Limited (IL&FS) in July. But the decision drew strong criticism mainly as the contractor was handpicked, without inviting bid. The Supreme Court too issued a stay order on the decision, citing that the move was against the Investment Board Act - 2012.
The initiative of the IB to award the contract of the TIA project to the IL&FS was also heavily politicized, mainly as Vaidya faction of the then UCPN (Maoist) and present leadership of the CPN-Maoist tagged the move as ´anti-national´.
Following the hiatus, the Board had recently expedited consultations with the AG and other lawyers on how to move ahead the TIA project.
“The suggestion of the AG and others to the IB was to move forward the project through a new bidding process. Hence, it is presently undertaking exercises in this direction,” a high level source at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council Minister (OPMCM) told Republica.
CEO of the IB Radhesh Pant confirmed consultations with the AG and senior government officials. “The project is an important one. Hence, we are serious about executing it,” said Pant.
He also confirmed that the opinion of the experts he consulted was to go for competitive bidding. But he did not shed light on IB´s position on the case. “We have not yet taken any concrete decision on whether to go for new bidding,” he said and also preferred not to divulge IB´s plan.
Upgrading and management handover of the TIA was one of the 14 high-priority projects that the government handed over to the IB in May. The IB was entrusted to implement them under fast-track mode.
“The three projects, namely Second International Airport at Nijghad, Kathmandu-Tarai Fast Track and TIA Upgrading and Management Handover Projects complement each other. Hence, our opinion is that these projects should go hand-in hand in order to maximize their utility and generate profit,” said Pant.
Presently, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) is looking after the TIA management. The project to upgrade and enhance the capacity of the sole international airport is being carried out under Asian Development Bank´s (ADB´s) assistance of $ 80 million, including US$ 70 million in loans and US$ 10 million in grants. The government has also invested $30 million in the project.
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