Bid to be the Best
Sukunta Lal Hirachan, President of The Federation of Contractors' Association of Nepal (FCAN), has evolved from a consultant to a contractor and now to a construction entrepreneur. He is the person behind the colossal United World Trade Center building at Tripureshwor. Currently he is involved in new projects like constructing the building for White House College at Satdobato, National Theatre (Rastriya Nachghar) at Jamal, Kantipur Dental College at Dhapasi, and the huge construction of 200 Bed Trauma Center at Bir Hospital, Kathmandu as a contractor.
At the same time he has successfully completed the major infrastructures of the nation like Kali Gandaki Hydroelectric Project, Biratnagar Airport, Armed Police Hospital at Balambu, Purbanchal University at Morang and BP Koirala Memorial Cancer Hospital at Bharatpur, Chitwan.
Hirachan is originally from Mata, Mustang and he still remembers the time when his family used to spend six months in Mustang and six months in Pokhara to escape the chilly Mustang winter. Half the year, Hirachan's father would go towards Butwal selling horses. From there, he would go even India, buy precious stones in Calcutta and sell them in his village later in the year.
But during Hirachan's childhood, his family decided that the itinerant lifestyle was too hectic, so they settled down in Pokhara where he went to school. Later he decided to study civil engineering becoming one of the first members in his family to get a formal education. After passing his engineering course, he started a consultancy in 1981 and later merged it with his brother's construction business.
After working in Pokhara for about seven years, Hirachan decided to move to Kathmandu because Nepal's centralized bureaucracy meant that all the key decisions regarding contracts were made in the capital.
Once in the capital, Hirachan constructed many buildings and he claims that all the work that he has carried out has been of good quality. Hirachan says he tells his clients if there is a problem before they tell him about it. This helps to create trust and, according to him, this is what professionals should do. He further says, "Though I have not bid for contracts outside the country, I have won International Competitive Bids (ICB's) in Nepal. This proves that my work has been good." Hirachan admits that some contractors in Nepal may be unscrupulous but claims that the contractors of Nepal will be the most advanced ones in the South Asian region in the near future.
Talking about his magnum opus, the United World Trade Center (UWTC), Hirachan says it was destined to be his work. He found out that Tribhuwan University (TU) had called for the tender only after it had published it the second time.
After he won the bid, he says it took him two years to create the shape of the building with a fellow engineer. "I wanted it to be a big center in the whole country," says Hirachan. "Other countries have similar centers that they are proud of and I wanted to create something similar in Nepal. I wanted the building to have all the facilities relating to business. There are various shops, health clubs, and even a bowling facility." He further explains that the facility will give people a positive feeling the moment they enter it. Also to preserve the positivism in its environment, Hirachan has disallowed facilities like discos to be operated there because youths may start fights in them and spoil the mood.
Personal side
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Eats a light meal in the morning and always returns home for lunch.
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Likes to attend parties.
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Wife is a homemaker.
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Has a daughter who is an MBBS doctor from Manipal College, India and his son is studying BBA Massachusetts University at Boston, USA.
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Although he won the bid, many people told Hirachan that such an ambitious project would not work in a country where there was a civil war going on. But Hirachan says he was undaunted and went ahead with the project and he is hopeful that the newly established peace will last long. Now all the space in the UWTC has been booked already and Hirachan says that this is because of the comparatively cheaper rent that he has offered. He is under contract to give back the building to TU in 30 years' time along with a payment of Rs. 200 million and he is confident of doing so with a good profit.
Discussing his transformation in business, from a consultant to a construction entrepreneur, Hirachan says that he is building for his own business purposes now because that is where the profits are. He says that to be successful, one needs to have knowledge, skill and the vigour to take risks. That is what he is doing now.
Talking about the FCAN which he heads, Hirachan says that contractors are facing many problems because of threats and extortion from various groups. Though he hasn't had any bad personal experience of such activities, he says many of his friends are finding it difficult to cope. He says that the government's provision of bidders having to go to one single office to submit their bids creates problems because it becomes easy for extortionists to target bidders. "If bids could be submitted at various places, the extortionists would have to work much harder," says Hirachan, "We have told the government about this problem but they say the rules set by donors like the World Bank prohibit this."
Talking about life as the President of FCAN, Hirachan says that though the association has enhanced his social status and network, he has to spend more time for the association than on his business. That is the reason why Hirachan is extremely busy these days and he does not have enough time for recreation. As he says, he finishes all his professional work by mid-day and only then does he start to meet different people. He complains of a lot of pressure on him to finish his work by afternoon.
To cope with the stress, Hirachan practices yoga in the morning and he has also started to light lamps to the gods in his house daily after his mother passed away about a year ago. He says this gives him peace of mind.
