Although a corruption case worth Rs 135 million has been filed against Civil Aviation Authority Director General Pradeep Adhikari in the construction of a heliport in Nalinchowk, Bhaktapur, the CIAA has not yet concluded its investigation into the Pokhara Regional International Airport case, which he is linked to.

The Authority, which has been investigating the Pokhara Airport case for two years, has already taken statements from the accused involved in the construction process. But it has been delaying the completion of the investigation and taking the case to court. 

According to the Authority source, irregularities and embezzlement have been seen from the beginning of the airport construction process until the project is completed. The parliamentary subcommittee led by then MP Rajendra Prasad Lingden under the Public Accounts Committee of the House of Representatives had also found that about 10 billion rupees had been embezzled in the airport construction and recommended that the Authority conduct further investigation against those involved in the crime.

The Authority has not concluded the investigation it has been conducting for two years, and it has been 7 months since the Accounts Committee directed it to conduct further investigation. In the meantime, the Authority has already taken statements from the accused former ministers, current and former officials of the Authority, and representatives of the consulting company. The Authority is still confused about bringing the accused to justice.

The Authority had on Wednesday filed a case in a special court against the Director General of the Authority, Adhikari and former Director Murari Bhandari, the Authority's Manager Nal Bikram Thapa, Deputy Manager Samriddhi Shrestha, the consultant for the heliport construction, Gurudatta Adhikari, and the head of the construction company, Abhiyantra Consulting Pvt. Ltd., Vijay Thapa, on charges of corruption in the construction of the Nalinchowk heliport. 

The Authority had arrested Adhikari and Bhandari before the case was filed. Both are currently in the custody of the Authority. The Authority is preparing to present them before a special court for a closed-door hearing on Friday. 

Meanwhile, it has been more than six months since the parliamentary committee submitted its report to the Authority, alleging corruption of around Rs 10 billion in the Pokhara Airport case, but it has been difficult to conclude the investigation. The former and current Directors General of the Authority, as well as high-ranking employees of the Authority, as well as leaders of the Congress, UML, and the then Maoist (now CPN) are involved in this case.

Sources say that the CIAA has already taken statements from former ministers involved in the decision-making process related to the construction of Pokhara Airport. The CIAA has also taken statements from current and former high-ranking officials of the Ministry of Tourism and the Authority.

Chandmala Shrestha, the director of the national pride project, Prabin Neupane, the project's engineer, Rajendra Prasad Poudel, the project's administration chief, Baburam Poudel, the director general of the Authority, Sanjeev Gautam, Rajan Pokharel and other officials involved have also given statements to the CIAA.

The current director general, whom the parliamentary subcommittee recommended action against, was the head of the Pokhara Airport Project from 2071 to 2074. The subcommittee had recommended that 8 people, including the head of the Pokhara International Airport Project, Binesh Munakari, be suspended and that the CIAA and the Money Laundering Department be instructed to promptly investigate and take action to the extent possible in accordance with the law. How the CIAA will proceed with this case is widely viewed as a matter of interest. 

Former Secretary Jayamukanda Khanal says that the Authority should not delay in concluding the investigation, which is also seen as a matter of public interest, and bringing the culprits to justice. “Everyone’s demand is that those involved in corruption should be brought to justice and the culprits should not be allowed to go free. Keeping this in mind, the investigation should be brought to a quick conclusion,” says Khanal. Authority spokesperson Rajendra Kumar Poudel says that it is not possible to mention this right now as the investigation is ongoing. The officer who was arrested in the Nalinchok Heliport case and made a defendant in the case is also one of the main accused in the Pokhara Airport case.

In 2065, the concept of developing Pokhara as a regional international airport was formulated. Two years later, in 2067, Joshi Associates submitted a detailed engineering survey, layout, plan and soil estimate. The authority then prepared tender documents with a total cost estimate of 174.994 million US dollars including VAT, including 145 million for construction and an additional 30 million dollars for the purchase of the required 550 ropanis of land, for a total cost of 175 million. However, it is alleged that the issue of completing the project for 22 billion rupees was finalized in collusion without finalizing this. The parliamentary investigation report has also revealed that the initial cost estimate was increased in collusion while completing the project, causing damage to public property.

After the Chinese government expressed its intention to build Pokhara Airport on the EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) model and hand it over to the Nepal government, on 11 Mangsir 2068, the Ministry of Finance gave approval to the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal to proceed with construction according to the Chinese proposal and model. At the time of approval, the then Maoist senior leader Baburam Bhattarai was the Prime Minister, the Maoist Barshaman Pun was the Finance Minister, and Khadga Bahadur Bishwakarma was the Tourism Minister.

After the government's approval, a condition was placed on the construction that only Chinese companies could compete for concessional loans through China's Exim Bank. This prevented foreign companies from competing for the construction of this project. On 19 Jestha 2067, a meeting chaired by the then Finance Minister decided to proceed with the project by having a Chinese company build it. After that, a Chinese contractor was selected. 

This issue is mentioned in the investigation report of the subcommittee led by RPP leader Lingden under the Public Accounts Committee of the House of Representatives. After that, the Authority signed an agreement with the Chinese company CAMC Engineering on 8 Jestha 2071 to get loan support from a Chinese bank and build it at a cost of 22 billion rupees. When the decision regarding the cost was made, the then Nepali Congress President (now deceased) Sushil Koirala was the Prime Minister, Congress leader Ram Sharan Mahat was the Finance Minister, and Bhim Prasad Acharya was the Tourism Minister. 

The Authority has questioned the issue of the cost calculation being set too high. As per the construction process, a loan agreement was signed between the governments of Nepal and China on 8 Chaitra 2072, with construction to be carried out by a Chinese company and payment to be made by a Chinese bank. At the time of the agreement, UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli was the Prime Minister, UML leader Bishnu Poudel was the Finance Minister, and UML's Ananda Prasad Pokharel was the Tourism Minister. 

The Authority had signed a subsidiary agreement with the Chinese side on 23 Jestha 2072, stating that the Chinese bank would provide a concessional loan of Rs 22 billion at an interest rate of 2 percent. The agreement stated that the Authority would receive the loan received from the Government of Nepal and pay interest at a rate of 2 percent for 7 years after the construction was completed. After that, a provision was included to receive a concessional loan to repay the Chinese loan in 26 installments within 13 years.

Similarly, the goal of building an airport to accommodate narrow-body aircraft was set. Although it was envisioned to build a runway of 3,000 meters in length and 50 meters in width, it was reduced to 2,500 meters in length and 45 meters in width. Although the length and width were reduced due to insufficient airspace, officials involved in the investigation claim that there was a game of irregularities in it. Then, it is alleged that the project was completed with the collusion and arbitrariness of Chinese companies and authority officials. 

The construction was completed on December 29, 2022 and inaugurated on January 1, 2023. Although the airport was built, its commercial flights are still uncertain. Instead, after one fact after another came to light against the irregularities in the construction, the power centers focused on influencing the investigation. When the construction agreement was initially signed to proceed with this project, the total cost was supposed to be 145 million US dollars, but it was also found that the contract was approved at a cost of more than 70 million (6.56 billion at the 2014 exchange rate) after negotiations were conducted contrary to the Public Procurement Act.

The parliamentary subcommittee report also pointed out that there was an irregularity of 2.22 billion by making a new agreement to provide tax exemptions contrary to the original agreement. 4.435 million dollars were paid to fill the ‘runway’, ‘taxi way’, ‘apron’, dam, and drain. It is said that the work was not done, and that another company was paid 320 million rupees for cutting the Chhinedanda from the same company that was awarded the contract.

The report mentions that the environmental impact assessment was not conducted before the construction of the airport and the Chhinedanda cutting, and that the contractor company was required to pay 742 thousand dollars for the purchase of AC. The Authority has identified issues such as taking a loan without a feasibility study and strategic action plan for operation, and completing the runway soil test report without sufficient time as the main basis for irregularities. Authority sources involved in the investigation also stated that sufficient basis and evidence were found that a large amount of money was irregular in the construction of the airport.

On 13 Ashad 2081, the Accounts Committee had formed a 12-member parliamentary subcommittee under the coordination of Lingden on the Pokhara Airport construction irregularities. The subcommittee submitted its report on 28 Baisakh 2082 after about 10 months. The subcommittee had directed the government to suspend eight people, including the Director General of the Authority, saying that an investigation should be conducted by the Authority in the corruption case in the airport construction.

The committee then directed the Authority to conduct an investigation along with a report. The 38-page report concluded that the cost of the airport was increased by Rs 6.56 billion in violation of the public procurement law, Rs 2.22 billion was returned as tax exemption, and an additional Rs 320 million was paid for the cutting of the Chinedanda. Similarly, although a cost estimate of US$ 145 million (Rs 13.59 billion as per the exchange rate of 2014) was prepared with a Chinese company, it was increased to $ 216 million.