KATHMANDU: Renovation work at the Tribhuvan University Cricket Ground in Kirtipur is ongoing, with efforts focused on installing stadium parapets and floodlights. However, delays in project completion have led the government to impose financial penalties on the contractor.
According to the Ministry of Urban Development, the contractor is now liable to pay a daily penalty of 0.005 percent of the total project cost, amounting to more than Rs. 200,000 per day in compensation.
The penalty came into effect on July 14 after the contractors failed to meet the scheduled deadline.
The contracts were signed in March between the ministry’s Federal Secretariat Construction and Management Office and two joint venture companies.
The BKUI-KCDC BG JV is responsible for constructing the parapets, with a contract worth Rs. 492.5 million, while the Bishan Ishwari JV was contracted for floodlight installation, valued at Rs. 473.7 million.
Under legal provisions, contractors may continue working while paying the daily fine for up to 200 days, equivalent to 10 percent of the total project value. If the work is not completed within that window, the firms risk being blacklisted.
Despite the delays, progress is being made. According to project officials, the contractor has committed to completing the work within a month. Currently, 4,000 seats have been installed, and three out of six floodlight poles have arrived on-site.
In terms of progress, parapet construction has reached 63 percent financially and 77 percent physically, while floodlight installation stands at 29 percent financial and 45 percent physical completion.
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