KATHMANDU: The Supreme Court of Nepal has issued an interim order suspending the implementation of judgments made by the Patan High Court and Kathmandu District Court in a dispute involving Chinese contractors of the Chameliya Hydropower Project, including China Gezhouba Group (CGGC) and Pinggao Wisdom JV.
The contractors had demanded an additional payment of Rs 800 million from the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA).
The case stems from the contractors’ claims for extra compensation for their work on the 30-megawatt Chameliya Hydropower Project. After years of legal disputes, both the Patan High Court and Kathmandu District Court ruled in favor of the contractors, and international arbitration also supported their claim.
In response, the contractors attempted to enforce the court rulings by freezing NEA’s bank accounts. However, the Supreme Court’s recent intervention has blocked their efforts for now, offering temporary relief to the embattled NEA.
The court’s interim order specifically halts the enforcement of the arbitration tribunal’s decision, as well as the judgments of the Patan High Court, which had upheld the tribunal’s ruling.
The order further states that the petition filed by China Gezhouba Group, which challenges the arbitration decision and the Patan High Court ruling, must be resolved before any enforcement of the court decisions.
Until the issue is finalized, the decisions of both the arbitration tribunal and Kathmandu District Court will remain suspended.
This legal development is significant as it could set a precedent for how disputes involving international contractors and Nepal’s public projects are handled in the future.
The Supreme Court’s ruling delays the financial liabilities and asset freezes that the NEA was facing, but the case is far from over. The outcome of this dispute may have long-term implications for the authority’s credibility and its future dealings with global contractors.
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