The project has already achieved spending progress amounting to 124 percent and may need an additional Rs 500 million this year to pay for the remaining lands to be acquired for the project site, according to project officials.Likewise, Bhairahawa Regional International Airport has spent a sizable amount and paid out Rs 160 million to its civil contractor for construction work on the runway and terminal building as of the end of December. But the finance ministry report published over a month later says that the spending progress was nil. The total amount allotted for the project is Rs 4.53 billion.
Project Manager at PRIA, Pradeep Adhikari, said that they have regularly reported [on project spending] to the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Minister, MoF and the National Planning Commission. Spending reports are collected at the Comptroller General's Office via the ministries concerned or the district treasury offices, but discrepancy in the reports occur due to direct payments to some of the projects by development partners, according to officials.
The report also mentions zero spending progress at three other national pride projects, and another project official also refuted this. Chief of Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower Limited, Bigyan Shrestha, said that they have already spent about Rs 2 billion in the first half of the fiscal year, and the money came from other sources, including funds collected from an initial public offering and from various lenders. "The report of zero spending at the project is not true as we first spent money from sources other than the allocation by the finance ministry," said Shrestha.
The finance ministry report is correct in the case of the Second International Airport at Nijgadh, which has in fact not made any progress in spending. Project Manager Dev Chandra Lal Karna said that they have yet to start land acquisition and compensation distribution of Rs 1 billion, including Rs 500 million allotted for this fiscal year.
Likewise, spending progress on the West Seti Hydropower Project is also zero as the finnace ministry is yet to allot funds for the project for the first half of the fiscal year. Pending negotiations between Nepal Electricity Authority and China Three Gorges Corporation, setting up of a joint venture company for implementing the project has not made any progress and it may take some more time.
However, it is a fact that spending on development work has been affected by the earthquake of April 25 coupled with the 20-week Indian blockade starting from the third week of September. Though the supply situation is normal now, project officials still report lack of sand and aggregates for construction activities.
Om Narayan Sharma, project manager of Bhairahawa Regional International Airport, informed that they have suffered from shortages of sand and aggregates after restrictions were placed on the extraction of construction materials from the Chure range pending a special decision by the Council of Minister to allow extraction from the Tinau river. Capital expenditure amounted to only Rs 27 billion, or 8.13 percent, by mid-January and the progress has not reached even 15 percent as of mid-March.
Joint-secretary at the National Planning Commission, Tirth Dhakal, said that the reason behind the discrepancy might have occured due to some 'direct payments' to the project offices by development partners.
Spokesperson of the finance ministry, Mukunda Ghimire, said the data should not have been faulty. He, however, added that he could not say anything without first perusing the details.
The budget division chief at the ministry, Ram Sharan Pudasaini, was not available for his reaction.
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