Addressing a function in the lake city, Minister Bhandari expressed his reservation over the decision of the Parliament’s Public Account Committee (PAC) to cancel the corporation’s aircraft purchase deal. He claimed that the process of purchase was started transparently, but it has been halted following the committee’s decision.[break]
“We want to ensure greater transparency in every step of plane purchase. But PAC’s decision has obstructed the overall process,” said he, adding that the decision has left NAC with only two aircrafts at its disposal to bring in the international tourists. He said that the decision will affect the targets set by Nepal Tourism Year 2011 to bring in one million tourists during the year.
“Nepal will miss a good deal of business and NAC will incur a heavy loss if we further delay the purchase,” said Bhandari. He termed the lack of consensus among different government agencies and political leaders to buy the aircraft for NAC as a ‘misfortune of entire nation.’
Had it been permitted to immediately purchase the plane, NAC could bring in more Chinese tourists through its cheaper Kathmandu-Lhasa routes, argued Bhandari.
“Currently, most Chinese tourists do not think of visiting Nepal due to the expensive fare,” he claimed. “This is accruing a great loss to Nepal.”
Currently, 28 international companies are operating their flights in Nepal and four others are waiting for the permission.
The annual turnover of the airlines in Nepal is estimated at Rs 60 billion. Bhandari, however, said annual turnover of NAC stands just at around four billion rupees.
“Despite such a huge business prospect, unfortunately, we are still at loggerheads over the issue of buying new plane for NAC,” he said, adding, “Rs 56 billion worth of business is already taken away by the international companies.”
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