Contractor seeks fifth deadline extension for parliament building construction

KATHMANDU, June 18: The construction company working on the new parliament building inside the Singha Durbar premises has submitted a proposal to the Department of Urban Development and Building Construction (DUDBC) for a fifth deadline extension.

According to the DUDBC’s Director General, Macha Kaji Maharjan, the contractor has requested an extension of one year. However, no decision has been made yet regarding the proposal. “Discussions are ongoing about how much extension should be granted, but it is highly unlikely that the full one-year extension requested by the contractor will be approved,” Maharjan said.

A senior official at the DUDBC stated that the staff has not yet reached a consensus on whether to extend the contractor's deadline until the upcoming month of Mangsir (mid-November to mid-December). Another DUDBC employee remarked, “There’s no guarantee that the contractor will complete the parliament building even within a year. If there were a guarantee, then a one-year extension could be considered.”

According to DUDBC sources, the contractor submitted the request for a deadline extension to the department in the month of Jestha (mid-May to mid-June).

In the mid-April, the government enacted the 14th amendment to the Public Procurement Regulations. According to senior officials at the DUDBC, the Fifth Amendment has paved the way for a fifth deadline extension for the construction of the parliament building.

The 14th amendment states: "If, for any reason, the work under a procurement contract could not be completed within the specified timeframe and the contract period has already expired or cannot be extended, the concerned supplier, contractor, consultant, or service provider may submit an application to the relevant public body within thirty days from the commencement date of this regulation. The application must include an amended work schedule explaining which tasks were not completed, the reasons for the delays, the time required to complete the remaining work, and a commitment not to make any additional financial claims due to the extension."

Several conditions have been outlined for approving deadline extensions under the newly amended Public Procurement Regulations. An extension can be granted in cases where the implementation of the procurement agreement has been postponed for any reason by the Government of Nepal, the Council of Ministers or a public body. Additionally, if the annual budget and program failed to allocate funds or if there was an insufficient budget that delayed timely payments, these factors can justify an extension. Furthermore, delays resulting from "compensation events" mentioned in the contract—such as failure to hand over the construction site or provide the necessary designs on time—also qualify. These provisions have opened the way for deadline extensions in cases where genuine and verifiable reasons are presented.

The 14th amendment specifies that requests for deadline extensions for projects must be submitted within 30 days from the date of publication in the official gazette. Furthermore, a decision regarding the extension must be made within 30 days from the date the request is received. The amendment also states, “If the responsible official or employee fails to make a timely decision regarding the extension, the concerned authority must take departmental action against them in accordance with the prevailing laws.”

On October 3, 2019, a contract worth Rs 5.02 billion was signed with the Tunditech JV Joint Venture construction company to complete the construction of the new federal parliament building within three years.

In Falgun 2080 (mid-February–mid-March 2024), after the DUDBC approved a Variation Order (VO) proposal, an additional Rs 560 million was added to the project cost. Former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli laid the foundation stone for the new parliament building on September 18, 2019. Currently, Oli remains in office as the Prime Minister. Since 2064 BS (2007 AD), the government has been operating parliamentary sessions at the International Convention Center in New Baneshwor on a rental basis.

The Chairperson and members of the Monitoring and Evaluation of the Implementation of the Directive Principles, Policies and Obligations of the state Committee conducted an inspection of the under-construction parliament building last Baisakh (mid-April to mid-May). During the inspection, senior officials from the Ministry of Urban Development informed the committee’s chairperson and members that preparations were underway to grant a fifth extension for the construction deadline, which would be for a period of up to 200 days.

The contractor company has already received four deadline extensions for the construction of the parliament building. The responsibility for building the parliament lies with the Special Building Project under the ministry. According to project sources, about 86 percent of the construction work has been completed so far. This is not the first time that the parliamentary committee has inspected the under-construction parliament building; such observations have been made several times before.

The Prime Minister, Speaker of the House, Chairman of the National Assembly, chairpersons and members of parliamentary committees, as well as departmental ministers, have all inspected the under-construction parliament building and have repeatedly instructed for its swift completion. However, there is still no definite timeline for when the work will be finished. After the change of the Minister of Urban Development, the new minister’s first task has regularly been to inspect the ongoing parliament building construction and instruct the contractor to complete the work quickly.

This long-standing practice has been continued by the current Minister, Prakash Man Singh, as well. After the 2079 (2022) elections, the ministers at the time had promised to hold the first session of the newly formed parliament in the new building, but that was not possible. Later, it was announced that the winter session of parliament would be held in the new building. When that too could not be achieved, then Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal declared that the parliament building would be completed within one year and the parliamentary sessions would be held there. However, that commitment was also not fulfilled within the stipulated time. There is still no definite timeline for when the parliament building will be completed or when parliamentary sessions will be held in the new building.

The cost of the dome’s design change has been borne by the government. A senior official at the ministry stated, “One reason the parliament building has not been completed on time is the government’s failure to strictly enforce the contractor’s obligations. Additionally, insufficient study of the Detailed Project Report (DPR) on time, lack of prior assessment of potential risks and challenges, and not allowing consultants enough time to work have also contributed to the delay. Frequent changes in the design have further caused delays in the construction.”