Chief Executive Officer of the Millennium Challenge Corporation, Alice Albright, (C) with US Ambassador to Nepal Dean Thompson (L) and MCC-A CEO Khadga Bist.
KATHMANDU: Alice Albright, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), has expressed her optimism regarding the timely completion of the MCC project in Nepal.
Albright, who engaged in discussions with top leaders, including Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, CPN-UMl Chairman KP Oli, and Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba, expressed her enthusiasm for the project’s progress on Tuesday.
Albright stated, “Prime Minister Dahal and former Prime Ministers are all in favor of the project, and it has been implemented. After speaking with them, I am very excited and hopeful that the project will be completed within the specified timeframe.”
Having arrived in Nepal on Sunday, Albright held high-level political meetings on Monday and Tuesday.
She mentioned, “When we met with officials from various concerned agencies, they all emphasized the need to expedite the implementation process.”
Albright stated, “Over the past 20 years, we have successfully completed MCC projects on time in various countries worldwide. Despite some complications, we believe the project can be completed on schedule in Nepal as well.”
CEO Albright also affirmed that they had accepted the 12-point “explanatory declaration” issued when the MCC was approved by Parliament.
The MCC project has been in operation in Nepal since August 30, with a stipulated completion period of five years.
Meanwhile, US Ambassador to Nepal Dean R. Thompson stated that the procurement and contracting processes for the MCC project have already commenced.
“MCA Nepal has transparently initiated the tender process after extensive deliberations. We currently have four years and 11 months remaining, and the work is progressing smoothly,” he stated.
It was noted that when MCA Nepal invited tenders for the construction of transmission lines, the awarded bids exceeded the estimated cost by more than 61 percent.
MCA Nepal had initially estimated the transmission line construction cost at $226 million, but the lowest bid received last week amounted to $365.9 million.
Khadga Bist, Chief Executive Officer of MCA Nepal, meanwhile, defended the design of the transmission line, stating that there were no errors in its planning.
“The design of the transmission line was not flawed. We are currently investigating why companies have submitted such high bids. It appears there may have been a misunderstanding when calculating the overall construction costs, resulting in a one-million-dollar difference between bids,” he explained.
Bist also clarified that any delays in the tender process would not impact the project’s deadline.
MCC’s Deputy Vice President, Jonathan Brooks, emphasized that the tender issue was not unique to Nepal and that they have faced and resolved similar challenges in other countries.
