China firm developing Maldives' Kadhdhoo airport under probe in Nepal

Nepal's anti-corruption agency, Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has launched an investigation into the international airport project developed by China's state-owned China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC).

CMEC was recently awarded the contract to develop L.Kaddhoo Airport to international standards.

The issue came up over the USD 216 million international airport in Pokhara, Nepal’s second largest city, which was funded by CMEC.

China agreed to provide the loan for the airport about 10 years ago, which opened in January this year.

Four months after the airport opened, the lack of regular international flights to the airport has become an issue, leaving China in doubt whether Nepal will be able to repay the loan.

Nepal then asked for the loan to be converted into aid. China, however, has refused.

Meanwhile, the New York Times reported last month that the project was too expensive and limited Nepal's authority to monitor the airport. According to the report, Nepal's Civil Aviation Authority has not done much about it, fearing China's displeasure.

Following the report, Nepal's CIAA raided the Civil Aviation Authority in Pokhara and seized documents related to the project.

A spokesman for the authority confirmed the incident to foreign newspapers but did not give any details of the investigation. Nepalese newspapers reported that the CIAA received more than 20 complaints about the construction quality of the project.

Some members of the investigation team said the quality of the Pokhara airport was poor, citing some engineers who worked at the airport.

China's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it had not received any information that an investigation had been launched into the airport. Such projects implemented by Chinese companies will be required to comply with the home country's regulations, the statement said.

Nepal, one of Asia's poorest countries, has been working on an international airport in Pokhara since the 1970s. Its main objective is to turn the city into a tourist destination.

This is the latest controversy surrounding China's infrastructure development projects in various countries. Some countries have faced serious financial challenges due to the poor quality of such projects implemented by China, and being caught in debt.

One example is neighbouring Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka was forced to hand over the Hambantota port to China long term, as they were unable to repay the loans they had taken from China.

For Pakistan, 30% of its external debt is owed to China. That's about USD 50 billion.

In Malaysia, A USD 11 billion rail link project was also suspended and later resumed after the Chinese contractor agreed to reduce the cost of the work.

The Pokhara airport is the largest project in Nepal under what China describes as its Belt and Road Initiative. China has also decided to provide assistance for a railway project to build a cross-border power transmission line and a highway connecting China and Nepal.

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), launched in 2013 to boost participation in other countries' infrastructure development, has so far disbursed USD 1 trillion in loans and aid to various countries, according to estimates from several foreign newspapers. The projects aim to strengthen ties between the countries and provide lucrative infrastructure development projects to Chinese government-owned companies.

The Chinese-developed Sinamale Bridge in Maldives is also a project under the Belt and Road Initiative. China provided 50% of the USD 200 million to build the bridge.

More than 150 countries have participated in China's Belt and Road Initiative project. Borrowing from China to implement major infrastructure development projects in countries, critics say this Chinese scheme is a debt trap for poor countries.

BRI countries already owe more than USD 300 billion to China's Exim Bank, the Chinese government said this month. Some countries have restructured their large loans and have taken out bailout loans.