Lawmakers are divided over China CAMC Engineering Co Ltd (CAMC) dismissing the parliamentary sub-committee’s report on the construction of Pokhara Regional International Airport. While some parliamentarians have called the statement an attack on Nepal’s sovereignty, others have defended the company and questioned the integrity of the report itself.
CAMC, the Chinese state-owned company responsible for building the airport, issued a statement on Tuesday dismissing the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) sub-committee’s report, which alleges serious financial and procedural irregularities worth approximately Rs 10bn. The company claimed the report was “riddled with factual inaccuracies” and lacked professional and objective analysis. It further asserted that CAMC had fully complied with all legal and regulatory requirements throughout the project.
Speaking at the PAC meeting on Wednesday, Rajendra Lingden, chairman of the sub-committee and leader of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party, said CAMC’s statement was misleading and amounted to an attempt to undermine Nepal’s sovereign Parliament.
“It is unacceptable for a company involved in a state project to publicly question the findings of a parliamentary body,” Lingden said. “The statement has drawn my serious attention, and I urge fellow lawmakers to treat it with due gravity. This is an attempt to tarnish the image of Parliament.”
However, not all lawmakers shared Lingden’s view. CPN-UML leader and former Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Yogesh Bhattarai, criticized the sub-committee’s report as incomplete and misleading.
“Our report claims there are technical flaws in the airport, which would warrant its closure. But determining technical viability is not within the sub-committee’s jurisdiction,” said Bhattarai. “The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has already certified Pokhara Airport for ‘4-D’ category flights. If aircraft are landing and taking off, how can we say it's not fit for operation?”
Bhattarai also cautioned against mishandling foreign investment. “Like with the MCC, we must consider diplomatic sensitivities. China will not quietly accept this report that questions the integrity of its investment.”
UML lawmaker and sub-committee member Gokul Baskota described the report as “incomplete” and said his input was not a dissent but a supplementary opinion.
“Some crucial data was not uncovered, and written queries to concerned agencies were never conducted. The Ministry of Finance did not respond either. That’s why I say the report has everything and yet nothing—it still needs more work,” said Baskota. He noted that he is willing to provide further evidence if requested but has no objection to the current version being endorsed. “My only point is that further study is necessary.”
PAC directs CIAA to investigate the case
Following Wednesday’s deliberation on the report presented by its sub-committee on alleged irregularities in the Pokhara airport project, the PAC has instructed the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) to investigate the case.
Following a four-hour-long discussion, PAC Chairman Rishikesh Pokharel announced that the committee had accepted the report presented by the sub-committee led by Lingden, as well as supplementary opinions by its members. He also informed about the committee’s decision to forward the report to the CIAA.
“The sub-committee’s report raises 15 crucial questions, and we have incorporated these questions as part of our formal decision and have resolved to send the report to the commission for further investigation,” said Pokharel.
