E-Kantipur

KATHMANDU, JAN 28 -

A preliminary investigation by the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) into the disintegration of the pavement of the helipad at Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) has blamed the quality of construction.

The anti-graft body reached this conclusion after analysing the lab reports submitted by the Central Road Laboratory where material samples from the helipad were tested. “We analysed the lab reports and the result is not satisfactory,” said CIAA Spokesman Ishwori Paudyal, who is also one of the investigation officers. The CIAA had formed a three-member investigating team to look into the matter. However, the investigators have not provided details about the lack of quality.

The CIAA is now preparing to interrogate the contractors, officials at the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) and the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation and the project manager. “The questioning will start the next week,” added Paudyal.

The CIAA could not complete a list of the government officials, consultants and contractors involved in the construction for lack of time. “We will come up with the details on Friday,” said another investigation officer Deputy Inspector General Ramesh Shekhar Bajracharya.

In the first week of July, the parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) had asked the anti-graft body to probe the construction of the helipad and take action against those involved after the pavement started crumbling four months after it was built.

The CIAA had assigned Paudyal, DIG Bajracharya and Joint Attorney General Dilliraman Acharya to study the various documents related to the awarding of the contact and the quality of the materials used.

The helipad had been built to allow domestic choppers to operate from a single base for more efficient services. The project cost Rs 27 million. 

The lab reports confirm the findings of the committee formed by the CAAN earlier. The committee had concluded that technical and design defects resulted in the pavement’s crumbling. The committee’s report stated that the helipad had been built to last temporarily, so the surface did not have the required thickness. The helipad had been designed to last only one and a half years, so it had been blacktopped instead of being covered with concrete.

In the third week of November 2011, PAC had directed the CIAA to speed up the investigation into the irregularities in the maintenance of the runway at TIA and construction of the helipad.

Waiting for lab report

The CIAA team, which is also probing the irregularities in the repair work on the runway at TIA, has not yet received the lab reports. “The lab testing process seems to be lengthy, and we are still waiting for the report,” said officials. The 3,048-m runway repaired at a cost of Rs. 240 million collapsed in the third week of June.

A joint venture between China Railway Engineering Corp and Nepali Tundi Construction was given the contract to repair the runway while GEOC, a Nepali company, was named consultant. “Our investigation into the runway collapse will gather speed as soon as we get the lab report,” said officials.

Posted on: 2012-01-28 09:23

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