Kathmandu — On Sunday, the nation’s constitutional anti-corruption agency, Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), filed a major corruption case at the Special Court related to irregularities surrounding the China-funded Pokhara International Airport project.

 

Authorities have named 55 individuals and one company as defendants. The accused include five former ministers, ten former secretaries, several senior bureaucrats, and the Chinese contractor responsible for the project.

 

According to the charge sheet, the state incurred a loss of approximately NPR 8.36 billion (roughly USD 74.34 million), caused by a deliberate inflation of the project estimate and excessive payments made under a contract awarded on suspicious terms.

 

The charge sheet alleges that the contract was awarded to China CAMC Engineering Co. Ltd. despite it being technically and financially unqualified — in violation of Nepal’s procurement laws. It further contends that additional consultant committees were created to shield decision-makers and justify inflated costs.

 

The project — originally budgeted at around USD 169.7 million — was revised to USD 244.04 million following the “maliciously inflated” estimate, triggering suspicion of collusion between public officials and the contractor.

 

The airport, which opened in January 2023, was envisaged to boost tourism and international arrivals in what is one of Nepal’s top trekking and travel destinations. However, to date it has failed to attract regular international flights — raising serious concerns about the return on investment and long-term viability of the project.

 

By pursuing legal action against former high-ranking officials and the foreign contractor, CIAA signals a zero-tolerance approach toward corruption in strategic infrastructure projects — especially those financed through foreign loans. The Special Court will now proceed to determine sentencing and may order restitution equal to the claimed damages.