Nepal parliamentary panel claims millions embezzled in construction of controversial Pokhara airport

A Nepali parliamentary panel has alleged 103.7 million dollars were embezzled during the construction of the pricey Pokhara International Airport made with the assistance of Chinese-backed loan. The subpanel of the House of Representatives’ Public Accounts Committee following a 10-month probe, confirmed corruption and claimed the actual figure could be even higher, accusing the finance ministry of withholding documents. “We are sure that the construction of Pokhara International Airport is one of the largest corruption scandal in Nepali history,” a member of the panel said to ANI. Dubbed as “White Elephant” in the preliminary stage, the Pokhara International Airport saw China’s CAMC Engineering, the construction division of state-owned conglomerate Sinomach, playing a pivotal role in the construction. While the project was estimated to cost 103.7 million US dollars, but expenses later increased to 163 million dollars. The airport has not seen frequent international flights, except for rare chartered Chinese flights. Its association with China's BRI project has also made it difficult to attract international flights, especially from Indian Airlines as New Delhi opposes the BRI initiative, citing infringement on its sovereign territory.

#Nepal #parliament #Pokhara


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