The Jagdulla Hydropower Company has awarded a major contract to a Chinese construction firm accused of submitting forged documents during the bidding process for the 106 MW hydropower project in Karnali Province’s Dolpa district.
In a public notice issued on Tuesday, May 27, the company announced that Chinese firm Jiangxi Construction Engineering (JCE) and its Nepali joint venture partner, ANK Construction Pvt. Ltd., had been selected for the civil and hydro-mechanical works of the Jagdulla Hydropower Project.
The joint venture of JCE and the Nepali company was awarded the contract at the bid of Rs 12.15 billion (excluding price adjustments, VAT, and taxes), the notice said. The decision has raised eyebrows amid an ongoing investigation into allegations that JCE submitted falsified credentials to secure the deal. The Nepal Police’s Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) has confirmed it is looking into the matter following a formal complaint filed by rival bidder Sinohydro Corporation Limited.
On April 22, Jagdulla Hydropower Company had shortlisted JCE and Sinohydro after their technical proposals passed the evaluation stage.
CIB spokesperson Superintendent of Police Yubaraj Khadka had earlier told Aarthik Abhiyan, a sister publication of New Business Age, that the bureau had launched a formal investigation. “Sinohydro has alleged that JCE submitted fake documents to win the contract. We’ve initiated an investigation based on the complaint,” he said.
Adding to the scrutiny, Jagdulla Hydropower Company CEO Sanjay Sapkota had earlier confirmed that the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA)—Nepal’s constitutional anti-corruption body—has also begun its own probe into the case.
The Jagdulla project is a peaking run-of-the-river (PROR) hydropower scheme being implemented under the Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) model.
