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TIA project delayed due to slowpoke contractor
The Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) improvement project will be delayed by two years due to a slowpoke contractor, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (Caan) said.The Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) improvement project will be delayed by two years due to a slowpoke contractor, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (Caan) said.
The Spanish contractor Constructora Sanjose has been working very slowly, said Caan, which is executing the $92-million project funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
The improvement project includes expansion of the existing runway, construction of new taxiways, extension of the apron, refurbishment of the international terminal building and installation of new luggage conveyor belts, among others. As of now, only 20 percent of work has been completed.
According to officials, work has been progressing on schedule at all the ADB-funded projects except the TIA project, and the ADB has also expressed serious concern over the delay.
Work came to a halt following the April 25 earthquake and subsequent trade embargo that caused a severe fuel and raw material crisis in the country.
“Everything is normal now. But the contractor is still hesitant to speed up the project,” said a high Caan official.
“The contractor has been working on the project but on a piecemeal basis.”
“The project has pledged to provide as much fuel as needed, but we don’t understand why the company has not been showing interest in speeding things up,” the official said.
“Even if work progresses at full speed, it will take at least two years to complete the project,” said the official who did not wish to be named.
The $92-million project jointly funded by the government ($12 million) and ADB ($80 million in loan and grant) was implemented on December 6, 2010 with the completion deadline set for March 16, 2016.
Initially, the project hit a snag as the soil to be used as a filler for the expansion of the runway was not available.
Work was held up for a few days after the airport was closed when a Turkish Airlines jet crash-landed in March last year.
Subsequently, the April 25 earthquake and fuel shortage halted work.
After the completion of the project, TIA will be able to handle more than 5.85 million passengers annually and accommodate bigger aircraft.
Luggage conveyor belts yet to be switched on
KATHMANDU: New luggage conveyor belts have been set up at the arrival section of TIA, but they have not been brought into operation due to delays in installing the software into the system to make them run automatically. Work on another conveyor belt has also started, TIA officials said. “If the work is expedited, the luggage belt could come into operation in the next 20 days.” However, the contactor Constructora Sanjose has informed TIA that it had invited technicians from New Zealand to install the software and that it would take some time. Arriving travellers have been complaining about the poor service at the airport as they have to wait for at least three hours to retrieve their baggage. There are two luggage conveyor belts at TIA. A temporary belt has been installed, but it is a one-way system.