Asian Development Bank bars top Chinese firms from Nepal's key infra project

Kathmandu [Nepal], December 21 (ANI): The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has barred three top Chinese construction firms from participating in Nepal's key airport infrastructure development project, local media reported.
The anti-corruption office of Manila-based multilateral funding agency punished three state-backed companies for violating integrity rules, The Kathmandu Post reported.
The list of the banned companies includes CMC engineering Company, Northwest Civil Aviation Airport Construction Group and China Harbour Engineering Company.
Around 24 companies had purchased bid documents for Tribhuvan International Airport ultimate development project in Kathmandu worth 10 billion Nepali Rupees. However, only four Chinese companies submitted them, the report said.
Among the four hopefuls are two of the firms blacklisted by the ADB, the Post reported citing a top official at the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal.
"These companies are blacklisted under the ADB's integrity guideline, and have been put on the sanctions list for ADB-funded projects," said the official of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal.
According to the officials, the punitive actions will not be applied to ongoing projects the companies are currently undertaking.
Notably, the companies have been blacklisted only for ADB-funded projects, a Nepali government procurement expert told the Kathmandu Post.
"But if the ADB informs Nepal's public procurement monitoring office about their misconduct and the manner in which they were put on the sanctions list, it will be easy for Nepal to blacklist them too. The integrity rules in the project are universal rules."
This development comes as Nepal is planning to upgrade Kathmandu's airport which is currently functioning as the sole international airport. According to Post, heavy congestion and lower quality of services are observed during peak hours. (ANI)