Kathmandu, July 1 (IANS) Nepal’s controversial procurement of six Chinese aircraft a decade ago has once again come under scrutiny after the country’s Supreme Court issued a show-cause notice to the government, seeking an explanation regarding the procurement that left the state-owned national flag carrier with a huge financial burden.
Received between 2014 and 2018 through a combination of Chinese grants and concessional loans worth NPR 6.66 billion, five of the six Chinese aircraft have remained parked at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu since 2020, steadily depreciating while generating no revenue.
One of the six aircraft suffered a runway excursion at Nepalgunj Airport in western Nepal in March 2020 and has remained there ever since in the form of scrap.
Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC), the state-owned national flag carrier, has not been operating the Chinese aircraft, citing soaring operating costs, high fuel consumption, expensive spare parts, and poor commercial performance that have made their operation financially unsustainable.
With the Chinese aircraft bleeding NAC financially, Bhesh Raj Luintel, a chartered accountant and public-interest activist, filed a writ petition at the Supreme Court on June 25 demanding a comprehensive investigation into the procurement process, arguing that the deal had inflicted losses worth billions of rupees on the state.
On June 26, a single bench of Supreme Court Justice Bal Krishna Dhakal issued a show-cause order directing the defendants – including the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, the Ministry of Finance, and Nepal Airlines Corporation – to explain why no investigation had been initiated.
The court also granted the case “legal priority”, allowing it to proceed more quickly than other cases.
Facing a shortage of aircraft required to maintain domestic air services, the Nepali government decided to procure six Chinese aircraft – four 17-seater Y12E planes and two 56-seater MA60 turboprops.
The procurement was expected to herald a new era for the national flag carrier, which faced an acute shortage of aircraft relative to the size of its workforce and operational requirements. However, the move turned out to be an ill-advised venture, as the Chinese aircraft proved unsuitable for operations at many of Nepal’s remote airports and the NAC also faced shortage of trained pilots, instructor pilots, qualified maintenance engineers and an adequate supply of spare parts.
Along with Pokhara International Airport in western Nepal, which was built with Chinese loans, the procurement of the Chinese aircraft is increasingly being viewed as another ill-conceived decision that added to the financial burden on the Nepali government.
Archana Khadka, a Director at NAC, told IANS that the corporation has been forced to pay parking charges for the five Chinese aircraft parked at Tribhuvan International Airport.
“I cannot immediately say how much we pay in parking charges,” she said.
“In the case of the plane that suffered a runway excursion at Nepalgunj Airport, we have received insurance compensation,” she said. “The aircraft has now remained there in the form of scrap.”
In the past, NAC made efforts to lease out the aircraft, but it received no bids, forcing the national flag carrier to continue parking them at the airport.
“A new leadership team that will soon be installed at NAC is expected to look into the matter,” Khadka said.
Writ petitioner Luintel has argued that despite the issue becoming a subject of widespread public concern and controversy, causing economic losses to the state amounting to billions of rupees, and despite sufficient grounds to suspect serious irregularities, abuse of authority, or corruption in the decision-making process of public officials, no effective investigation or legal action had been initiated by the CIAA.
The petitioner urged the court to issue a writ of mandamus directing the CIAA to carry out an impartial, independent, and time-bound investigation into the roles of all officials, decision-makers, consultants, authorities granting financial approval, and other individuals involved in the aircraft procurement process from its inception to the present.
Luintel also requested the court to direct the CIAA to file corruption cases if the investigation uncovers corruption, abuse of authority, or any other legal offence.
The petition further requested the court to order the immediate disclosure of all relevant documents in accordance with the law and to direct authorities to take action against officials responsible for concealing information.
According to the petition, feasibility studies, technical evaluations, financial analyses, procurement approval notes, decisions, and other related documents have been kept confidential, thereby restricting both the petitioner’s and the public’s right to information.
