Construction Work Halts Due to Soaring Material Prices, Federation Demands Government Action

Kathmandu. The Federation of Contractors' Associations of Nepal has demanded immediate government intervention to resolve the crisis, stating that construction work across the country is on the verge of halting due to excessive price hikes in construction materials. During a discussion with the Chairman of the Infrastructure Development Committee, Ashish Gajurel, federation officials drew attention to the complexities and practical problems within the Public Procurement Act.

In the discussion, the President of the Federation of Contractors' Associations of Nepal, Nicolas Pandey, stated that although Section 55 (1) of the Public Procurement Act clearly provides for adjustments in case of unexpected price increases, employees are reluctant to implement it. He said, 'The Public Procurement Monitoring Office (PPMO) document mentions that price adjustments should be given, but employees have put businesses in trouble by writing in the contract that it is 'not applicable' to old contracts. If employees cannot make decisions due to fear of the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority or irregularities tomorrow, a concrete decision must come through the 'removal of obstacles' from the Council of Ministers.'