A new luggage conveyor belt imported by Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) has been gathering dust for the last 15 days due to the contractor’s reluctance to install it.

TIA had removed one of the three belts at the arrival section in October to replace it with a new one. The contract to install the new belt was awarded to Spanish firm Sanjose under the TIA improvement project. The contract ends by March. “There’s no sign of the contractor installing the bent anytime soon,” said Mahendra Singh Rawal, deputy director general of TIA. 

Currently, TIA has been processing passenger luggage only through two conveyor belts. A temporary belt has been installed, but it is o

ne-way. This has affected 

a large number of travellers as they have to wait for 

hours to receive their luggage, said Rawal. “We have repeatedly asked the Spanish company to install the belt, but it has not shown any interest,” he said. “We don’t know the exact reason behind the company’s reluctance.” 

The new belt took a long time to arrive in Nepal. The shipment was stuck at the Kolkata port for more than three months due to India’s unofficial trade embargo, TIA officials said, adding it was released from the port with help from the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA). 

CIAA has been scrutinising TIA after a government committee revealed vulnerable loopholes and illegal activities plaguing the country’s sole international airport. In its report released recently, CIAA has said as the work to replace the old luggage belt is under way, it has been affecting baggage collection during peak hours. When four planes land at a time, the two remaining conveyor belts cannot not handle the rush, it has stated. CIAA has directed the authority concerned to complete the project as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, the Spanish firm has been demanding 21,000 litres of diesel daily from the Caan to continue with its TIA expansion 

project works. The project scope includes expansion of the existing runway, 

construction of new taxiways, extension of the apron, reformation of the international terminal building, and installation new luggage conveyor belt, among others. Initially, the company halted the works citing unavailability of soil required for the expansion of the runway. The works were further delayed by the April 25 earthquake and fuel shortages triggered by India’s trade embargo on Nepal.

“We have committed to the Spanish company to make available 6,000 litres of diesel daily and have urged it to resume the works, but the company is adamant that it cannot continue the works unless it gets the demanded amount of diesel,” said TIA officials. “The company can do other works in which diesel is not required, but it is not interested in it as well.”

As of now, less than 20 percent works under the TIA improvement project has been completed. 

The $92 million-project jointly funded by the government ($12 million) and Asian Development Bank ($80 million in loan and grant) was implemented on December 6, 2010, with completion deadline of March 16, 2016.