Kathmandu, April 13 – Failure to meet deadline to complete a multi-million dollar project funded by the Asian Development Bank has hit the baggage handling system at the country’s sole international airport.
The installation of new system of baggage carriage at the arrival terminal of the Tribhuvan International Airport as part of the three-year-long project worth more than $80 million, which exceeds the estimated cost for the construction of second international airport in Nijgadh, was halted on Friday, according to a highly-placed source at Tribhuvan International Airport.
Even after missing the deadline, the contractor, Constructora San Jose, qualified by ADB under the Air Transport Capacity Enhancement Project, refused to continue the installation of new conveyor belts, violating a component of the project worth $4.2 million, an official said.
“The contractor halted the belt installation work on Friday, seeking an early payment of more than Rs 17.9 million for its ‘intensive’ contribution during the removal of a crash-landed Turkish Airlines’ jet from the runway last year,” he added.
Though the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal officially transferred its payment call to the Turkish Airlines, San Jose, however, had neither signed any contract with the airlines nor was it requested by TIA/CAAN to remove the ill-fated jet, a source said, adding that Indian Air Force’s Hercules had voluntarily delivered techies to remove the stuck plane.
“San Jose, which missed its deadline to complete the project, has irrelevantly raised the issue of payment of millions of rupees, as it was not the part of the project component,” a senior director said.
“The contractor was assigned to install two conveyor belts but it stopped the installation work raising an irrelevant demand.”
According to TIA, there are only two conveyor belts in operation at the arrival terminal after the same contractor dismantled a belt six months ago.
When contacted, San Jose’s officials, including its site manager Óscar Gutiérrez, refused to comment.
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