Nepal investigating new international airport in Pokhara made by China
By Daisuke Wakabayashi, Bhadra Sharma and Claire Fu
As developing countries consider the consequences of borrowing heavily from China for major infrastructure projects, anti-corruption officials in Nepal have launched an investigation into a flagship airport financed and built by Chinese state-owned companies.
Nepal’s $216 million international airport in Pokhara, the country’s second-largest city, opened in January. China agreed more than a decade ago to provide loans for the airport’s construction. Nepal engaged China CAMC Engineering, the construction arm of state-owned conglomerate Sinomach, as a contractor. The airport has failed to attract regular international flights, raising concerns about whether it will generate enough revenue to repay loans to Chinese lenders. Nepali officials have asked Beijing to convert the loans into a grant to ease financial burdens, but China has not agreed.
Last month, The New York Times reported that CAMC had inflated the cost of the project and undermined Nepal’s efforts to maintain quality control, prioritizing its own business interests. The Nepal Civil Aviation Authority, the body overseeing the airport’s construction, did not put up much resistance and was reluctant to upset Beijing over an important project for both countries.
Shortly after the article’s publication, Nepal’s Abuse and Authority Investigation Commission raided the offices of the Civil Aviation Authority in Pokhara and seized documents related to the project.
Bhola Dahal, a spokesperson for the anti-corruption bureau, confirmed that an investigation into the airport was underway but declined to comment further, noting that it was still in the preliminary stages.
The investigation is the latest black eye for China’s overseas infrastructure projects, which have been criticized for expensive and poor quality construction, leaving borrowing countries awash in debt. Beijing has declared Pokhara airport the “flagship project” of its Belt and Road Initiative with Nepal.
Nepal, one of the poorest countries in Asia, had been trying to build an international airport in Pokhara since the 1970s in the hope of turning the city into a tourist destination.
Jagannath Niroula, deputy director general at the Civil Aviation Authority, said anti-corruption investigators had spent two or three days in Pokhara examining the airport’s construction quality.
A pair of engineers who had worked at the airport told investigators that the quality of the building had been compromised and that the project’s infrastructure was inadequate, said two people familiar with the investigation who were not authorized to to speak publicly about the issue.
In a statement, China’s Foreign Ministry said it was not aware of any investigation into the airport but noted that it has always required Chinese companies operating abroad to comply with local law and regulations. The ministry said CAMC “has strictly implemented quality standards and kept complete records during the construction process.” CAMC did not respond to requests for comment about the investigation.