Construction Nears Completion for New Federal Parliament Building in Kathmandu, Temporary Hall to Host Sessions

Kathmandu. The physical construction of the new Federal Parliament building being built in Singha Durbar is nearly 94 percent complete. Although construction is in its final stages, the main hall of the House of Representatives cannot be operated immediately due to technical reasons, prompting preparations to conduct meetings from an alternative hall within the same building.

According to Roshan Shrestha, Deputy Director General of the Department of Urban Development Building Construction and Project Director of the Special Building Construction Project Coordination Office, the main hall of the House of Representatives is being temporarily replaced by another hall because work on the false ceiling and audio-video system installation remains unfinished.

“The main hall is very high, and due to the complexity of constructing a three-layer false ceiling, removing the scaffolding has taken time,” said Director Shrestha. “As long as the scaffolding is not removed, the wires for video conferencing and the audio system cannot be pulled. Therefore, work is progressing to prepare another multipurpose hall within two to three days to conduct parliamentary sessions.”

What is the status of each block?

According to the project, most other structures within the parliament building are in the finishing stage. Two blocks of the Parliament Secretariat have been completed, and the process of installing furniture there has also begun. Offices for parliamentary parties and halls for various committees are also ready.

The work on the VIP block is expected to be completed in about a week. Furthermore, Director Shrestha informed that the security block will be the last to be completed as it currently houses the construction contractor and the project office. However, Nepal Army personnel have already been deployed there for security.

The parking area in the outer premises of the building is ready. Paving work on the premises is scheduled to begin within the next week. “Since paving cannot be done while there is debris, cleaning and final preparations are currently underway,” Shrestha said. “The construction of the attractive fountain in the exterior part seems likely to take some more time.”

Although the construction of the exterior fountain will take some time, other external structures are ready for operation. Since the main hall is not fully ready, arrangements have been made to conduct parliamentary meetings from the alternative 'multipurpose' hall, considering the immediate need.

6% Work Remaining Even After Deadline Expired 6 Times

It has been over six years since the construction of this building, which was targeted for completion in three years, began. The cost of this project, which was contracted to Tundi-Seok JV on October 2, 2019 (2076 Ashoj 16) for 5.6727 billion rupees (including VAT), has now reached 6.29 billion rupees with variations.

The deadline has been extended five times so far, citing the Corona pandemic and other technical reasons. Although the final deadline was set for January 1, 2025 (2082 Poush 16), some percentage of work still remains. The construction contractor has applied for another extension to complete the remaining work. A separate contract worth 2.3454 billion rupees was awarded in July 2023 (2080 Ashar) solely for the interior decoration of the building. The project stated that 94% of the work has been completed so far, with only finishing work remaining. A total of 6% of the work is left.

Various 12 buildings for the Federal Parliament are being constructed on 151 ropanis of land. Physical structures occupy 27% of the total land, roads 20%, and gardens 43%.

The buildings under construction include the House of Representatives building, the National Assembly building, the Central Lobby, office buildings for Very Important Persons, a library, a museum, parliamentary party office buildings, parliamentary committee buildings, a cafeteria, and a press/printing building. Additionally, parking facilities capable of accommodating 450 four-wheeled vehicles and 800 two-wheeled vehicles, along with a security personnel building, are being constructed.

International Convention Center Becomes History

The International Convention Center in New Baneshwor, which served as the center of Nepal's parliamentary practice for nearly two decades of its republican history, is now set to become history. This building, which witnessed the Constituent Assembly of 2008, the declaration of the end of the monarchy, the promulgation of the Constitution of 2015, and the practice of the Federal Parliament, was damaged after being targeted during the 'Gen-Ji' protests on August 30 and 31 (Bhadra 23 and 24). It is now certain that parliamentary activities will shift to its own new building in Singha Durbar. This International Convention Center, built with Chinese assistance, was rented for parliamentary use.