Nepal charges dozens and says corruption inflated an airport’s costs by $74 million

KATHMANDU Nepal AP Former Nepali ministers executives and a Chinese company were charged with corruption over financial irregularities during the construction of an international airport The Commission for Analysis of Abuse of Authority filed on Sunday cases against people and the China CAMC Engineering Company Limited one of the biggest such cases in the Himalayan nation accusing them of inflating construction expenses by more than million It remains unclear when the hearing will begin Two authorities of the Chinese company have been named in the charges filed at the Special Court in Kathmandu which handles corruption cases related to authorities dealings The bidding agreed on with the executive in was set at million but Nepali representatives increased the amount to a little over million in collusion with the Chinese company the commission commented The airport at the resort city of Pokhara kilometers miles west of Kathmandu was built with a loan from China Exim Bank It was expected to draw foreign tourists to the picturesque city the starting point of a multitude of trekking routes in Nepal However it failed to attract international flights since operations began in according to local reports Court cases in Nepal can take months if not years to be resolved Corruption is widespread in the South Asian country In September massive demonstrations against corruption led by youth which left dozens killed forced the ruling body to step down and an interim administration was installed General elections are expected in March Source