Koshi Refreshment Centre Project Faces Financial and Practical Challenges

Various under-construction structures are visible in the Koshi erosion area of Sunsari along the East-West Mahendra Highway. These structures belong to the 'Koshi Refreshment Centre'. This project, initiated in the fiscal year 2074/075 due to personal desires and ambitions, has now become a burden to the state.

The project, which began with the concept of building a resting place for drivers with an expenditure of two hundred thousand rupees, transformed into a two-billion-rupee project after a 'political nexus' was attached, leading to a situation where a large state investment is now at risk of being wasted.

The concept for the project was conceived by Kedar Rizal, then Senior Superintendent of Police (DIG) at the former Province 1 Police Office, Biratnagar. Rizal shared his plan to build a small structure for drivers to rest on the highway with the then-Chairman of Koshi Rural Municipality, Aiyub Ansari. Rizal's plan was to build the structure with two hundred thousand rupees from the police office.

Chairman Ansari said, 'Later, we proceeded with the work, deciding to build the structure with two billion rupees instead of two hundred thousand.' This project, which started thereafter, is now in a state of abandonment. The government has washed its hands of responsibility, and the private sector is also not interested in investing.

DIG Rizal and Ansari presented this plan to Jagdish Kushiyat, the then Minister of Forest, Environment, and Tourism of the Koshi Province government and the elected Member of the Provincial Assembly from Sunsari Constituency No. 4 (1). Following discussions with Kushiyat, it was concluded that matters related to transportation fall under the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Law, and the proposal was then presented to the current Chief Minister, Hikmat Kumar Karki, who was also the minister of that ministry.

With everyone's agreement, it was decided to build a state-of-the-art 'Koshi Tappu Rest Centre' in the Koshi erosion area. At that time, the estimated cost of the rest centre was approximately 11 crore 57 lakh rupees, with a target to complete construction within 3 years.

A joint special committee comprising the Provincial Government, the District Administration Office Sunsari, Koshi Rural Municipality, and the Nepal Police was formed for the construction of the rest centre. Later, the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the project was changed again. A new DPR was prepared requiring an investment of two billion rupees. As the then Chief Minister Sherdhan Rai agreed to include this in the multi-year project, the tender process for construction began with source consent, making it a project of the Provincial Government itself. The then Chief Minister Sherdhan Rai laid the foundation stone for the refreshment centre.

Subsequently, in the 2079 and 2083 BS general elections, Jagdish Kushiyat, who was the UML candidate from Sunsari-4, proudly announced in his manifesto, 'The country's first model 'Refreshment Centre' has been constructed.' However, the project had become a burden for the Provincial Government.

Former Chief Minister Kedar Karki, who was also a Member of the Provincial Assembly during the first term, criticized the project in the assembly at the time, citing irregularities in land purchase and investment in an unnecessary structure. 'This is what I spoke about at the time. There were suspicions of irregularities in the land even then, and it was said that the Provincial Government could not complete the construction of this structure. The result of forcing it is what the province is facing now,' Karki said.

According to Suresh Sah, the then Chief of the Building Construction and Urban Development Office, Morang, the government spent five crore forty lakh rupees to purchase 20 bighas of land from locals for the construction of the Koshi Refreshment Centre.

On Asar 26, 2077 BS, a contract was signed with the construction company Kabindra Nava Sirjanshil JV for the first phase at a cost of 30 crore 43 lakh 82 thousand 279 rupees. In the following days, due to price adjustments and variation amounts, the total reached 35 crore 23 lakh 95 thousand 67 rupees, including 1 crore 63 lakh 33 thousand 866 rupees for price adjustment and 3 crore 16 lakh 78 thousand 921 rupees for variation. To date, more than 33 crore 15 lakh rupees have been spent on the project, including the land purchase cost.

With this amount, a health post building, restaurant, three-story police building, administrative building, 2700-meter long compound wall, and toilets are under construction. According to Jitendra Kumar Karna, Chief of the Infrastructure Development Office, Sunsari, the physical progress of the first phase is 86 percent.

According to Rajesh Kumar Jha, supervisor of the refreshment centre, the second phase of the project included plans for constructing a picnic area and children's play area, a dhawa, a swimming pool, and a bus park.

Government Withdraws Hand

Even before the first phase of the project, which it initiated itself, could be completed, the Provincial Government has withdrawn its hand and decided to hand over the project to the private sector. There is no clear reason stated for the government's withdrawal.

On Mangsir 26, 2081 BS, the government put the project in the 'showcase' of the investment conference and invited private sector investment. Accordingly, the project was 'showcased' at the first Koshi Province Investment Conference held in Biratnagar on Baishakh 18 and 19, 2082 BS.

A five-member committee was formed on Asar 11, 2082 BS to evaluate the proposals from the three investors who submitted proposals at the conference.

'How the private sector will return the government's investment or what the government's share will be will be decided only after the evaluation,' said Dr. Saroj Koirala, Director of the Investment Authority. According to him, the submitted proposals are being studied.

Koirala states that the lack of its own engineers and staff is the main reason for the delay in selection. 'We coordinate with the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure Development to study the proposals. We do not have skilled manpower. That is also why it has been delayed,' Koirala said.

Milan Acharya, Secretary of the Koshi Province Government, Ministry of Physical Infrastructure Development, says that the reason for the government withdrawing from the project is the budget.

Former Minister of the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure Development, Bhupendra Rai, claims that the Provincial Government is handing it over to the private sector because it cannot manage it. 'I asked the Chief Minister (Hikmat Kumar Karki) why they were withdrawing from such a large project, and he said that the budget could not be allocated,' he said.  

According to high-ranking officials of the Provincial Government, a question has arisen about what will happen if the government's current investment of 33 crore rupees is valued at less during the evaluation. 'If the current investment is valued at less than 33 crore rupees, who will bear the remaining amount?' a ministry employee said, suspecting irregularities and corruption during construction. 'This could also be one of the reasons why the government has withdrawn midway, and that is why the selection of private investors is taking time.'

Efforts to Change VO Still Underway

Another reason for potential corruption in this project is the clandestine attempt to change the 'Variation Order' (VO). Milan Acharya, Secretary of the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure Development, repeatedly held discussions in the ministry to form a suggestion committee for VO changes. Some officials advised against changing the VO.

'There was preparation to change the VO, and it was stopped after we objected. We said that no additional funds should be given from the state treasury after deciding to hand it over to the private sector,' said an official who participated in the discussion.

A committee has been formed under the leadership of Sushil Shrestha, Chief of the Physical Infrastructure Development Directorate, Itahari, due to pressure from the Chief Minister's office to change the VO. However, the committee has not yet submitted its report.

Complaint at CIAA

After the committee was formed, a complaint was filed at the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), Itahari, stating that 'more payment than the BOQ rate was made in the construction of the District Sunsari Koshi Refreshment Centre and variation was done against the rules.' Based on that complaint, the CIAA issued a letter to the Infrastructure Development Office on Mangsir 17, 2082 BS, directing them to provide all documents within 15 days.

Secretary Acharya of the ministry stated that they have already responded to the CIAA. After the CIAA became involved, the committee led by Shrestha, formed to change the VO, became hesitant.

Pradip Kumar Sunuwar, Minister of Physical Infrastructure Development, stated that the variation will not be changed now and claimed that the project will be moved forward transparently. Secretary Acharya, however, says that a conclusion on whether to change the VO will be reached after the committee submits its report.

Subodhraj Pyakurel, former Vice-Chairman of the Koshi Province Planning Commission, believes that building the refreshment centre itself was wrong. He was the Vice-Chairman of the Planning Commission when the project construction began.

'I am completely against it. Firstly, it is very far from the market. The idea of parking vehicles there and passengers going to board is not possible,' he said. 'People first come to Biratnagar. They unload passengers, then go back to Itahari, wash and clean the vehicles. They rest and sleep in Itahari. Will they then take the vehicle to Biratnagar the next day and transport passengers from here? They won't go. '

According to Pyakurel, even long-distance buses will not go to the refreshment centre. He said, 'Is it possible for buses that need to stop in Biratnagar or Kakarbhitta to drop passengers in Kakarbhitta, return to Itahari, and then come back to Kakarbhitta or Biratnagar the next day to pick up passengers? Think about it normally. Therefore, it is completely impractical and untimely.'

Regarding the current plan to hand it over to the private sector, Pyakurel claims that no one will operate it in a place where there is no profit. 'Looking 20 years ahead, it might be for the sake of Greater Biratnagar. By current standards, it is a wasteful expense. It is not a business at all,' Pyakurel said. 'If Greater Biratnagar becomes a very big city someday, then maybe. For now, it is a completely absurd project. The state has invested wrongly here.'

Koshi Refreshment Centre Construction Process

1. BS 2074/075: Started with the concept of DIG Kedar Rizal and initial investment from Koshi Rural Municipality.

2. BS 2075/076: Approved as a multi-year project by the Provincial Government and DPR construction (Cost 2 billion).

3. BS 2076: Contract signed with construction entrepreneur Kabin-Nava Sirjanshil JV.

4. BS 2081 Mangsir 26: Cabinet meeting approved the submission of the Koshi Refreshment Centre to the Investment Conference for operation under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model.

5. BS 2081 Magh 13: The 27th meeting of the Investment Authority assigned the responsibility of preparing the Expression of Interest (EOI) for the proposed project.

6. BS 2081 Chaitra 14: The 28th meeting approved the EOI and decided to present it at the Investment Conference.

7. BS 2082 Baishakh 18 and 19: The project was showcased at the first Koshi Province Investment Conference.

8. BS 2082 Baishakh 15: The 29th meeting approved the list of projects to be presented at the Investment Conference.

9. BS 2082 Asar 11: A 5-member committee was formed to evaluate the 3 received proposals.