Federal Parliament Building Still Incomplete After Seven Years, Seventh Deadline Extension Being Prepared

Dragon Media Correspondent

The Federal Parliament building under construction at Putali Bagaicha inside Singha Durbar remains incomplete nearly seven years after its foundation stone was laid, with authorities now preparing to extend the construction deadline for a seventh time.

According to Nepal Press, the contractor has submitted an application to the Department of Urban Development and Building Construction seeking another extension. Roshan Shrestha, director of the Special Building Construction Project, said a decision has not yet been made because required documents, including insurance papers, have not been fully submitted.

The complex is being built over 156 ropanis of land at an estimated cost of Rs 6.92 billion. It will include 12 major buildings, including chambers for the House of Representatives and National Assembly, VVIP facilities, a library, cafeteria, parliamentary party offices and security personnel facilities. The civil construction contract was awarded to Tundi-Sek JV.

The project has achieved around 95 percent physical progress. Shrestha said the remaining work could be completed within about one and a half months if construction proceeds at the required pace, but progress has slowed considerably. The sixth extended deadline expired in the first week of Jestha.

The foundation stone was laid on Asoj 1, 2076 BS, by then Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli. The original plan was to conduct parliamentary activities from the new building after the 2079 House of Representatives election. However, the complex remains unfinished even after a new parliament was elected in 2082 BS.

Delays in the civil construction have also affected the interior works. KC-Shyamsundar-Baniya JV was awarded a Rs 2.34 billion contract for interior decoration, furniture, information technology systems, sound systems, software and hardware.

The interior contract was signed in Asar 2080 and was scheduled for completion by Asar 2081. However, because the main building work remains incomplete, progress on the interior contract has reached only about 55 percent.

The department has said that the civil construction and interior works are directly interconnected and that both contracts will therefore require extensions. Authorities are preparing to extend both deadlines by up to six months.

The repeated delays in completing the country’s principal legislative complex have raised questions about public project management, contractor performance and the effectiveness of government monitoring and supervision.