In a significant development, the newly constructed international terminal at Pokhara’s airport in Nepal welcomed its first Sichuan Airlines flight from China in June. This marked a momentous occasion for the city and fulfilled Nepal’s four-decade-long aspiration to establish an international airport in Pokhara, envisioning it as a catalyst for transforming the city into a global tourist destination. However, beneath the surface of this grand opening, a complex and unsettling reality emerged, highlighting China’s controversial infrastructure influence and its geopolitical rivalry with India, as reported by The New York Times.
China played a pivotal role in financing and executing the airport project, furthering its quest to create an alternative sphere of influence and challenge American dominance on the global stage. Despite China’s claims that the Pokhara airport was not part of its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the initiative became a point of contention between China and India, given Nepal’s strategic location south of China and its close ties to India.
The construction of the airport was aligned with President Xi Jinping’s signature infrastructure campaign, the BRI, promising substantial investments in infrastructure projects worldwide. However, the Pokhara airport exemplified the perils of importing China’s infrastructure-at-any-cost development model, disproportionately benefiting Chinese firms at the expense of the borrowing nation.
China CAMC Engineering, a division of the state-owned conglomerate Sinomach, played a pivotal role in the project. An investigation by The New York Times revealed that China CAMC Engineering had consistently dictated terms to maximize profits and protect its interests, systematically dismantling Nepali oversight. As a result, Nepal found itself entangled in significant debt to Chinese creditors without the expected influx of passengers to repay the loans.
The construction project was marked by irregularities and a lack of oversight. The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, responsible for overseeing the Chinese contractor, lacked experienced personnel and funds for consultants, hampering the project. Key components, such as soil density tests and the airport’s drainage system design, were omitted, jeopardizing the project’s quality and stability.
While consulting efforts were expected to oversee CAMC’s work, the Chinese company managed to interact directly with Nepali officials, sidestepping consultants who had limited construction experience. Chinese engineers working on the project claimed they were instructed not to scrutinize CAMC’s work closely, revealing a disconcerting disregard for transparency and accountability.
The airport’s association with China’s Belt and Road Initiative ignited diplomatic tensions with India, making it challenging for the airport to attract international flights, particularly from Indian airlines. As of now, no international flights have commenced, and Nepal has reportedly requested that China convert the loan into a grant to alleviate the airport’s financial challenges.
In summary, the construction of Nepal’s Pokhara airport, primarily funded and executed by Chinese companies, has raised concerns about the quality of work, the manipulation of oversight, and the burden of debt on Nepal. Additionally, the airport’s association with China’s Belt and Road Initiative has ignited diplomatic tensions with India, making it challenging for the airport to achieve its intended purpose of becoming a global tourist destination. This case serves as an example of the challenges and pitfalls associated with importing China’s infrastructure development model.
