The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has approved the technical proposals submitted by three prospective Chinese contractors for the construction of a regional international airport at Chinnedanda, Pokhara.
Among the 10 Chinese firms that had obtained bid documents, China CAMC Engineering Co, Sinohydro Corporation and China International Water and Electric Corporation returned the completed documents to CAAN. The technical proposals of all the three companies were okayed by the CAAN board on Sunday.
They were not able to fulfil one of the criteria related to technical experience, but CAAN waved them through fearing that the entire process might be scrapped if they were too strict. They did not have the required 10 years’ experience in developing airport projects, said CAAN board member Jyoti Adhikari, who represents the private sector. “However, building a regional international airport in Pokhara is not a big deal for them as they are competent, so we decided to be flexible with regard to the requirement,” he added. “These Chinese firms are involved in a number of infrastructure projects which are under construction in and outside China.”
Leniency on the part of the CAAN board means that the long-delayed airport in Pokhara will certainly be built. The project has been in limbo since 1975 when the government acquired more than 3,106 ropanis of land. CAAN director general Tri Ratna Manandhar said that all the Chinese firms were competent to execute the project, and that CAAN would proceed with the evaluation of their financial proposals.
The lowest bidder among the three will get the contract. Their financial proposals will be evaluated starting this week, according to CAAN. A six-member evaluation committee under the coordination of Mukunda Bhandari, chief of the engineering department at CAAN, will study their financial proposals.
The airport contract is subject to a loan agreement between the government of Nepal and the Export-Import Bank of China (Exim Bank). CAAN will select the lowest bidder and recommend it to its line ministry. The ministry will then forward the selected firm’s name to the Finance Ministry which will then start loan negotiations with Exim Bank. The government plans to develop the airport with a soft loan of around US$ 145 million from Exim Bank.
The government and the Japan International Cooperation Agency conducted a detailed study for the airport project in 1989. It had proposed a runway 2,500 m long and 50 m wide, a terminal and a cargo building. Construction of the airport, which was expected to be completed in four years, was estimated to cost of US$ 39.6 million at the time. A new study has estimated that the project will now cost more than US$ 180 million.
CAAN invited bids for execution of the project under the engineering procurement and construction model on Feb 9 and extended the deadline twice.
Source ekantipur.com