CHITWAN, Aug 11: The long-delayed Gautam Buddha Cricket Stadium in Rampur, Bharatpur Metropolitan City-15, is once again facing uncertainty over whether construction will be completed within the stipulated deadline.
With only five months remaining before the January 6, 2027 deadline, the stadium has achieved just 60 percent physical progress, raising concerns over whether the remaining work can be completed on time.
Engineer Dharmendra Gupta of Himalayan-Kalinchowk BBR, the company contracted to construct the stadium, said financial progress stands at around 45 percent, while physical progress has reached approximately 60 percent. “We are currently carrying out the remaining works at a pace aimed at completing the project within five months,” Gupta said.
Bharatpur Metropolitan City and the construction company signed a contract in 2024 worth Rs 785.09 million, with the project scheduled for completion by January 6, 2027. However, Gupta said construction was halted for around five months because the Bagmati Provincial Government failed to release its allocated budget on time. “The provincial government was supposed to allocate Rs 90 million. Work had to stop for five months because the budget was not released,” he said. “If the amount had been released on time, the work would have progressed according to schedule.”
Gupta estimates that an additional three months may be required to complete the entire stadium if construction does not accelerate.
The contract originally set a 30-month construction period. However, only three of the four parapets have been completed so far, while preparations are underway to complete the remaining one. “The remaining parapet will be completed within a month,” Gupta said. “The VIP tower has also been completed. In one section, brickwork and plumbing have been completed, while plywood work is underway.”
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Work on the stadium field is also incomplete. Although wall construction has been completed, only around 20 percent of the field-related work has been finished, Gupta said. “Not all the materials required for the field have arrived yet. So far, around 20 percent of the field work has been completed,” he said. “Work will resume at full pace once the rain stops.”
He expects the field work to be completed within two months. Electrical, plumbing, painting and tiling works also remain unfinished.
The stadium project has a long and troubled history. In 2019, the Dhurmus-Suntali Foundation began construction of the stadium amid high public expectations. The then prime minister, opposition leaders and artists had participated in the announcement ceremony.
The stadium is being built on 20 bighas of land owned by Tribhuvan University. After securing the land, the Dhurmus-Suntali Foundation had announced plans to construct a 30,000-capacity international cricket stadium within two years at an estimated cost of around Rs 3 billion, with funding to be raised from various sources.
However, the Dhurmus-Suntali Foundation halted construction in 2021 after failing to raise sufficient funds. Unable to complete the project, it formally requested Bharatpur Metropolitan City to take ownership of the stadium on December 17 of the same year.
The Dhurmus-Suntali Foundation withdrew from the project citing a debt of Rs 184.3 million, while the value of completed work stood at Rs 571.2 million. The debt has yet to be cleared.
After the Dhurmus-Suntali Foundation pulled out, construction resumed with funding from the federal, provincial and local governments. The provincial government is financing 70 percent of the construction cost, while Bharatpur Metropolitan City is contributing the remaining 30 percent.
However, delays in fund releases have once again slowed construction and cast doubt on whether the project can meet its deadline.
Bharatpur Metropolitan City Engineer Santosh Acharya said the stadium could be completed on time only if the pace of construction is significantly increased during the remaining period. “Payment will not be stopped now. If the contractor accelerates the work, it can be completed within the given timeframe,” Acharya said. “Otherwise, the project may require an additional three to four months.”
He also cited the US-Iran war as one of the factors affecting the pace of construction.
So far, the provincial government has invested Rs 230 million in the project. It has allocated another Rs 70 million for the current fiscal year, but Acharya believes the amount will not be sufficient to complete the remaining works.
“Until now, we have paid Rs 40 million. The provincial government has invested Rs 230 million,” he said. “The province has allocated only Rs 70 million for the upcoming fiscal year.”
Bharatpur Metropolitan City has allocated Rs 140 million for stadium construction this fiscal year, while the federal government had earlier provided Rs 150 million.
According to Acharya, the provincial government will need to allocate around Rs 220 million more to ensure that the remaining construction work can be completed.
