SC’s intervention sought to quash govt’s plan to award contract of upgrading, managing Nepal’s only int’l airport to Indian company

A writ petition has been filed at the Supreme Court seeking its intervention to halt government’s preparation to hand over responsibility of upgrading, improving and managing Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), Nepal’s only international airport, to an Indian company.

The writ filed by advocates Shri Prasad Pandit, Krishna Prasad Bhattarai and Bhupal Basnet has demanded that the apex court stop the government from awarding contract to IL and FS Indian Company through the newly-formed Investment Board.

Stating that the contract of improving and managing TIA is being awarded to the Indian company without opening any tender process and hence is illegal, the writ termed the plan of the government to be detrimental to the long-term interest of the country.

Meanwhile, Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist) has also taken serious exception to the government’s preparation to award the contract of upgrading TIA to the Indian Company.

Issuing a press release on Wednesday, the party has said that it has raised serious question as to why the government is awarding contract to IL and FS Indian Company through the newly-formed Investment Board by ignoring the efforts of Civil Aviation Authority to initiate the upgrading of the airport with the ADB loan assistance and with its own resources.

“Earlier too, a proposal to appoint Air Marshal in the only international airport of Nepal in the name of Indian security was foiled after protests from different sides. It would in no way be acceptable to Nepali people and the country if it was a ploy to hand over the management of the sensitive airport to India in the current fragile transitional situation of Nepal,” said party Chairperson Lok Narayan Subedi in a press release. nepalnews.com