Contractors to halt works till mid-November

Kathmandu, May 14

Amidst the growing health and economic concerns due to prolonged lockdown induced by the growing number of coronavirus patients across the country, contractors have said that they would not resume the construction works until mid-November 2020.

An emergency meeting of Federation of Contractors' Association of Nepal (FCAN)'s permanent committee on Thursday concluded that the complexities created by the coronavirus pandemic had forced to halt the construction work.

"The FCAN urges the government to automatically extend the deadline of the project completion," read a statement issued by the business body.

However, some contractors have transported human resources, construction materials and equipment to the project sites amidst the challenging situation. But the latest spike in coronavirus cases and government decision to tighten the lockdown has restricted us to take additional workers and materials to the construction site which has forced us to shut the work, read the statement.

Maintaining that even though construction continued in this complex situation, the project cost would go up, therefore the government should include additional cost of the project and overhead of the 'no work' period.

"We want a clear and effective coordination among the state agencies and clear policy to continue with the development and construction work," said the FCAN.

It said that while some public agencies had urged the contractors to give continuity to the work, the Ministry of Home Affairs had cancelled all the vehicle passes of inter-district mobility.

At the same time, most of the workers, technicians and other human resources have reached their home and involved in various agricultural works. They are unlikely to return to work before the festivals of Dashain, Tihar and Chhath.

Likewise, the restriction in movement and transportation has forced the suppliers to shut their businesses, and due to lockdown in India and other source countries, it will be difficult to import construction materials other than cement and river-based items.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 15 May 2020.