Monorail project’s stay order extended

Kathmandu, June 25

The Supreme Court today extended an interim order issued on June 8, barring the Investment Board Nepal (IBN) from implementing its decision to seek Rs 100 million as performance guarantee from Kathmandu Monorail Company Pvt Ltd (KMCPL).

Today’s order, which has asked both the prosecutor and defence parties to submit their response in writing, was issued by a division bench of Justices Om Prakash Mishra and Purushottam Bhandari. As per the order today, the final verdict on the case shall be issued in the next hearing, which will be scheduled within 15 days of receiving the response.

The Supreme Court has said that the stay order had been extended as it had found that the IBN’s decision taken on May 2 had not been endorsed by the board.

The case was filed by KMCPL Director Tara Devi Dhakal against the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers and IBN. On May 28, a single bench of Justice Bam Kumar Shrestha had issued an interim order on the case. The order was extended on June 8, with the following hearing scheduled for today.

Both the parties had presented their arguments today.

The much-hyped Kathmandu Monorail Project has been delayed as IBN and KMCPL have locked horns over a few provisions in the draft of the MoU of the project.

The draft MoU prepared by IBN has a provision that KMCPL should deposit Rs 100 million as ‘performance guarantee’ before conducting the detailed project report of the project.

The firm has been saying that this provision will add financial burden on the company and there is no legal provision that states that such a huge amount needs to be allocated as performance guarantee.

In December 2016, KMCPL had inked a joint venture agreement with Powertek Sdn Bhd of Malaysia to construct a monorail in Kathmandu covering the Valley’s Ring Road. KMCPL will have 70 per cent stake and the Malaysian company will have 30 per cent stake in the project.