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Public Accounts Committee forms probe panel to look into NAC’s Airbus purchase deal
The Public Accounts Committee of the Parliament has formed a probe panel to look into the procurement of two wide-body Airbus A330 jets by Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC).Samuel Chhetri
The Public Accounts Committee of the Parliament has formed a probe panel to look into the procurement of two wide-body Airbus A330 jets by Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC).
A meeting of the PAC held at Singha Durbar on Wednesday formed a seven-member sub-committee under Nepali Congress lawmaker Rajan KC. Other members of the panel are lawmakers Krishna Lal Maharjan, Pradip Yadav, Prem Ale, Chanda Chaudhary, Dharma Shila Chapagain and Mina Subba.
The sub-committee has been given a 15-day deadline to submit their report on the matter.
Also read: Here’s everything you need to know about Nepal Airlines’ Airbus deal
At today’s meeting, PAC Chairman Bharat Shah urged lawmaker Hridyesh Tripathi to head the sub-committee but the latter declined the offer saying that he will not be able to make time for the probe.
The NAC had purchased two A330-200 Airbus aircraft from the US-based AAR Corp for $209.6 million, the largest ever aircraft purchase deal in Nepal’s aviation history. First of the two wide-body aircraft—Annapurna—arrived at the Tribhuvan International Airport in June. The second named, Makalu, arrived a month later.
Two parliamentary committees, including PAC and International Relations Committee, are currently conducting an investigation into the matter and there are many conflicting claims—the Ministry of Tourism claimed the jet purchase deal was transparent as all due process has been followed, while the audit report from the Auditor General’s office claims that the corporation breached its own financial by-law during the procurement process.