Construction Sector Faces Severe Crisis, Says Federation Chairman

Kathmandu. Chairman of the Nepal Construction Entrepreneurs Federation, Nicolas Pandey, has stated that a serious crisis has arisen in the construction sector. 

He said that the construction sector is on the verge of automatically shutting down as the government has not provided price adjustment facilities as per the law, payments have been stopped, and mental pressure on construction entrepreneurs has increased. 

According to him, government employees sign contracts in about 90 percent of the tenders by removing provisions from the law. He said that the price adjustment provision guaranteed by law is not being implemented now. 

Stating that construction entrepreneurs are not in a position to work, he pointed out that construction entrepreneurs are in a situation where not only will they incur losses by working now, but they will also lose their homes and land. Many entrepreneurs have not even received payment for the work done. 

Chairman Pandey also said that project chiefs to engineers are threatening construction entrepreneurs. Construction entrepreneurs are under severe mental stress because project chiefs and engineers are threatening to blacklist them, take action against them, and confiscate their bank guarantees if they do not work. He said that entrepreneurs from various districts are expressing a situation where they feel safer living in India than in Nepal. 

Chairman Pandey said, 'In about 90 percent of the tenders, civil servants of the Government of Nepal have signed contracts with us by removing provisions from the law. Now, we are not getting the price adjustment facility guaranteed by law. The situation of construction entrepreneurs is such that if they work, not only will they incur losses, but they will also lose their homes and land. Many friends are not in a position to work due to not receiving payment. On the other hand, if they don't work, project engineers and chiefs threaten them by saying 'if you don't work, I will blacklist you, I will take action'. They are putting mental pressure on construction entrepreneurs by threatening to confiscate their bank guarantees. Currently, friends from various districts are under extreme mental stress. Some are even expressing a situation where they feel safer living in India than in Nepal.' 

Stating that construction entrepreneurs are not asking for a 'construction holiday' but that the construction sector is automatically shutting down due to the inability to work, he clarified that the work is stopping not because entrepreneurs do not want to work, but because they are unable to work. He said that Chairman Pandey had discussed with project chiefs, general managers, secretaries, departmental heads, and ministers of the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport multiple times before, but had to intensify the protest after the problem was not resolved. 

According to Chairman Pandey, the construction sector is the main base of the country's economy. The construction sector provides employment to more than 2 million workers directly and indirectly. He said that this sector, which contributes 13 to 14 percent to the national economy, should not be troubled by the state. He argued that construction entrepreneurs are citizens of this state and they are also fulfilling the responsibility of development and construction, and if the construction entrepreneurs themselves are destroyed, there will be no manpower left to carry out the construction works of the state.