KATHMANDU: When it comes to the quality of Chinese products, there is an established saying in Nepal, “Made in China, Aja chha, bholi chhaina”. That is, goods made in China are not reliable and Chinese products are of poor quality.
Following the deterioration of the global image, the Chinese government has announced that by 2025, its goods and services will be credible in a competitive market.
Despite the question of the quality of goods and services, the image of the Chinese contractor or construction company was good in Nepal.
The Chinese used to be known for quality and timely work. But now Chinese contractors are tarnishing their image both in the goods and service sectors.
The Chinese contractors selected and employed in the infrastructure construction project are conveying the message that they cannot work longer and cannot complete the work on time.
For this, it is necessary to review the projects that have been taken over, abandoned, or handed over as completed by the Chinese company.
In December 2018, the government made the Chinese company Huawei pay Rs 320 million fine. Huawei had agreed to start the CDMA project in 2011 and complete it by 2013.
However, it had to pay Rs 320 million from the contractor after the work was not completed by the end of 2018.
The equipment and technology introduced by the Chinese company in the name of Nepal Telecom’s 3G service expansion project are still being questioned for their low quality.
The Public Procurement Monitoring Office under the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers blacklisted two Chinese companies at the same time.
Both Shenzhen Forddok Electronics and HuiZhou ZhongCheng Electronics were blacklisted on the recommendation of the Nepal Electricity Authority.
The tarnishing of the image of the Chinese company is the result of a decline in the performance of selected contractors from China.
At that time, Shenzhen had won the contract for the construction of the New Bharatpur and Udayapur sub-stations under the Marsyangdi Corridor.
The NEA had recommended that the company be blacklisted by seizing the tender deposit of USD 7,000 after the company did not show interest in the required contract after bagging it due to the low price tender.
The delay in the construction of these two substations has affected the projects being constructed in Dordi and Marsyangdi river basins.
The power of the project was wasted for a long time after the transmission line was interrupted by a Chinese contractor.
Although the project itself constructed the required 3.5 km long transmission line to the sub-station, the 132 KV Kirtipur sub-station to be constructed by the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) was not constructed on time and the NEA had to bear the loss.
It was revealed that Deepak Bhatta, a Nepali agent affiliated with Shenzhen Forddok Electronics and Gejuwa Company, which has been occupying West Seti for eight years, had only worked on the construction of the transmission line by submitting the fake details.
Officials of the Nepal Electricity Authority nickname Dipak as ‘Pappu’ of the electricity sector.
The Marsyangdi-Kathmandu 220 KV double circuit transmission line, which was disrupted due to Chinese confusion, came into operation on June 17.
Similarly, Chinese company HuiZhou ZhongCheng Electronics did not supply electrical equipment including smart meters to NEA as per the agreement.
Soon after, the company was blacklisted on the recommendation of NEA. The company was blacklisted until July 2021 after it was found to have submitted fake documents while participating in the NEA contract.
Soon after, the authority awarded a contract to Chinese company Pinggao Wisdom Joint Venture for the design, supply, connection and operation of smart meters for customers under Ratna Park and Maharajgunj Distribution Center. However, the program to connect smart meters to the homes of 90,000 customers has not been completed yet.
The Chinese company has also caused a huge loss to NEA in the 25 MW solar energy project constructed with the assistance of the World Bank in Nuwakot.
The Chinese company Risen Energy had taken over the project saying that the foundation stone was laid in April 2018. However, only 17 MW of solar power has been connected to the national transmission system grid since last February.
Similarly, the Central China Power Grid International Economic Trade, which left the project nowhere due to extreme negligence in the construction of the Hetauda-Bharatpur-Bardaghat transmission line, is also on the blacklist of NEA.
Seizing Rs 300 million deposited as the performance guarantee by this company operated by Nepali agent Deepak Bhatt, NEA had initiated retendering for the contract process.
According to NEA, there is a long list of Chinese companies occupying important projects in Nepal. Only a few of them have been blacklisted.
NEA has warned the Chinese contractor Kwangsi Hydro and Electrical Construction, which has been entrusted with the 102 MW Madhya Bhotekoshi Hydropower Project in Sindhupalchowk, to blacklist, break the contract and make it pay fines if the work is not completed within the next five years.
According to Hariraj Neupane, chairman of Madhya Bhotekoshi Hydropower Company, the project will not be completed in the coming December due to the poor performance of the Chinese company Kwangsi Hydro.
According to NEA, there had been an agreement on the ‘Energy Cooperation Plan’ reached during the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Kathmandu in October 2019, however, there has been no progress on it.
The project was said to be a starting point for enhancing cooperation in the energy sector.
Similarly, the Chinese company Power Construction Corporation of China Limited (PCCCL) has also abandoned the Tamor Reservoir Hydropower Project. As per the agreement with Hydro Electricity and Development Company of Nepal, the project has been put on hold only to prevent investment.
On the energy side, the Chinese company Zhejiang Yinlun had won the contract to expand the access to the generator supply, connection and transmission line to generate electricity from Kulekhani-III with a capacity of 14 MW.
However, the construction of the project was delayed due to the indifference of the Chinese company for a long time.
NEA blacklisted Chinese company Zhejiang Yinlun. NEA officials say that the cost of the Kulekhani III Hydropower Project has gone up due to the Chinese company.
The Chinese company China Gejuwa Water and Power Group also caused a huge loss to NEA in the Chameliya Hydropower Project. This was also due to the poor performance of the Chinese.
The Chinese contractor’s bad image is also linked to China Three Gorges International Corporation (CTGI). It started work in 2012 after getting the production license of the West Seti Hydropower Project.
However, the Chinese strategy of showing investment and construction commitment to Nepal’s projects and completing the trade mission by adding conditions after starting the work left West Seti unattended for 8 years.
According to the NEA records, the ill intention of the Chinese contractor can be spotted in the Dhalkebar substation.
The 400 KV substation at Dhalkebar, meant to link India with Nepal for the electric trade, was contracted by Central China Power Grid in 2014. However, NEA had to break the contract on September 22 and put the company on the blacklist after the Chinese company kept it on hold for a long.
The image of the Chinese company is not good even in the Tamakoshi hydropower project as Sino Hydro has extended the time for years.
Notoriety in roads and infrastructure
The Chinese contractor company is also responsible for pushing the well-known Melamchi drinking water project in limbo for years.
The Chinese company Railway Group, which was awarded the contract for the construction of the tunnel, broke the agreement unilaterally in August 2012 while constructing the tunnel.
After the project was abandoned and the company fled, the Italian contractor CMC resumed the work of Melamchi.
However, after the Italian company fled, arguing that the commission share was not agreed upon, now China’s Sino Hydro has again taken over the rest of the work.
Even though the work was supposed to be completed within 12 months, the company is still extending the contract of Melamchi citing the recent floods and landslides.
Despite making an agreement on the condition of paying a fine of Rs 1.25 million per day in case of further delay in work, not a single penny has been paid.
The Chinese company has been criticized for failing to make the Kalanki-Koteshwar section of the ring road, which was handed over four years ago, human-friendly.
It has been four years since the Government of Nepal signed an agreement with the Shanghai Construction Group of China to expand the Koteshwor-Kalanki road section.
Citing that the Chinese company has been putting forward conditions one after the other and the cost of the project was hiking due to the slackness of the contracted company, the Nepal government has approached the Chinese embassy to mount pressure on the company.
Now, if the Chinese team does not return, it will be blacklisted and the project will move ahead with another process, NEA source said.
The China State Construction Engineering Corporation, which won the contract by pledging the lowest amount for the construction of the Narayangarh-Butwal road section towards infrastructure, is also increasing the cost by adding conditions after conditions.
In three years after laying the foundation stone for the work, only 13 percent of work has been completed on the Narayangadh-Butwal road section under East-West Highway.
The then Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli had laid the foundation stone of the road extension from Rupandehi on March 22, 2019.
Although the contract demanded that the task should be completed within 42 months from the date of signing, only 13 percent of the 114 km road…
