Thapa asks why govt is obsessed with China Gezhouba

Kathmandu, September 26

Nepali Congress lawmaker Gagan Kumar Thapa today questioned why the government was so obsessed with China Gezhouba Group Corporation that it awarded the Budhi Gandaki Hydropower Project to the Chinese firm ‘through the backdoor’ even though the same decision of the previous governments was scrapped by the parliamentary committee twice in the past.

The then Agriculture and Water Resources Committee of the Parliament had scrapped decisions taken by then KP Sharma Oli-led government and the successive government headed by Pushpa Kamal Dahal to award the contract to the Chinese firm, stating that the decision was not in accordance with relevant laws, breached the Public Procurement Act, was not done on the basis of competition, and the agreement was signed arbitrarily with a Chinese company that was proved a failure in Nepal’s hydropower development sector.

“However, just ahead of the Dashian festival, just before the Parliament session ends, and just ahead of the prime minister’s departure to New York, this decision was taken through the same backdoor,” said Thapa. “I would like to ask the government how the situation has changed over the past year as to make the government repeat the same decision?”

Thapa said the question was not ‘why Chinese funding or why Chinese firm’, but why was the firm was not chosen on competitive basis. Thapa also questioned why the government, despite having the capacity to raise loans itself, exhibited helplessness while signing the MoU with the Chinese firm whereby the latter is responsible for raising loans.

Refereeing to Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s remark in New York that this decision was not controversial, Thapa said he agreed it was not controversial, but it had raised some serious questions. “I request the prime minister to keep his answer ready while heading back home from New York, not only for us, but for all those who are affected by the project,” said Thapa.

Thapa said the Cabinet decision on September 21 to award the project contract to the Chinese firm was not a decision but the prime minister’s order.

Stating that a line minister might be compelled to abide by the prime minister’s order, but the Parliament could not be the shadow of the prime minister’s orders.

Referring to the energy minister’s remark that the government took the decision as it did not have the capacity to invest, Thapa said the government had already collected Rs 24 billion by imposing tax on petroleum products for the project, and a study team led by the then Vice-Chairman of National Planning Commission Swornim Wagle had estimated that Rs 165 billion could be collected from the tax in the next 10 years.

The study report has concluded that the project costs Rs 270 billion, and since it is a multipurpose project, maximum benefit cannot be realised by awarding its contact to a private firm. The project will be viable only if the government itself takes the initiative, according to Thapa.

“The energy secretary and Nepal Electricity Authority’s executive director, who were part of the study team, are still there,” said Thapa.

He also said if the project contract was awarded on the basis of open competition and on the basis of the feasibility study carried out at the expense of Rs one billion, the project cost could have been minimised by at least 18 per cent, enough savings to build a Tamakoshi hydropower project.