. The contract for the construction of the 723-metre long Kankai Bridge linking Jhapa Rural Municipality-2 and Gaurigunj Rural Municipality-1 along the Postal Highway has been terminated.

The Project Office Itahari under the Hulani Highway Directorate under the Department of Roads has issued a public notice on Thursday terminating the contract with the joint venture (JV) of Pappu Mahadev Khimti for the construction of the bridge.

A contract agreement was signed with Pappu Mahadevkhimti Undertaking (JV) on June 11, 2068 for the construction of the bridge in design and build model. The construction of the bridge was completed by June 30, 2015 and the progress of the construction has been only 56 percent even after extending the deadline five times. The contract amount was Rs 340.9 million including tax. Similarly, the performance guarantee of Rs 17.1 million of the contractors who have been terminated will also be forfeited.

Why not terminate the contract from the Planning Office, Itahari on October 31? The contractor was asked to furnish a 15-day explanation. Chief of the Project Office, Yubaraj Pokharel, said that the contract was scrapped as per the Public Procurement Act as the clarification submitted by the contractor was not satisfactory.

The reasons for not completing the work within the stipulated time, the updated schedule for completing the work, reliable plan of resource mobilization and the official representative of the contractor were not present with the commitment to complete the work, the clarification submitted was not satisfactory and the Public Procurement Act and the contract agreement were violated.

It has been recommended that the amount as performance guarantee would be confiscated as per the provision of the Act, the amount required to complete the remaining work would be recovered as government dues and it would be kept in the blacklist.

They were requested to be present at the office within 15 days to evaluate the updated work and the remaining work and make financial adjustments. If the contractor is not present at the office, the office will be evaluated.

Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Physical Infrastructure and Transport, and Urban Development Kulman Ghising had informed the locals that a decision would be taken soon on the construction of the bridge.

Locals had demanded the immediate completion of the bridge as it has affected trade and business and tourism promotion. On the occasion, Minister Ghising directed subordinate bodies to announce the sick contract to end the tendency of taking contracts but not carrying out works and putting projects in limbo.

The construction of the Kankai bridge was carried out till 2076 BS. However, it was technically tested after a flaw was found in the construction. Some work was done by the contractor to correct the error confirmed by the technical examination. The contract expired in 2080 BS.

As per the latest amendment to the Public Procurement Regulations, the contractors have applied for extension of the deadline. However, the deadline was not extended as the contractor did not give any basis for the completion of the work. Out of 19 spans of the bridge, eight have been completed while the remaining 11 spans have already been built up to 2 girders. The foundation of 6 has been laid and the foundation of 3 is yet to be laid.