Jhapa. The construction work of Girija Prasad Koirala Memorial Hall (GP Building) at Bhadrapur Municipality-8, Chandragadhi, the district headquarters of Jhapa, is to begin. The construction work of the GP building, which has been stalled for almost seven years, is going to start.
Mayor of Bhadrapur Municipality, Ganesh Pokharel, informed that rs 30 million has been allocated through the Ministry of Urban Development for the construction of the building. “The budget has been received from the Ministry of Urban Development to carry forward the construction work,” said Mayor Pokharel. ’
With the receipt of the budget, the way has been cleared to complete the incomplete building by starting the work from the next fiscal year, he said. Mayor Pokharel said that with the 14th amendment to the Purchase Act, the legal hurdles seen in the construction of gp building have also been removed. “With the amendment of the Procurement Act, the government has already called for completing the old unfinished works,” he said. ’
Stating that the contractors have not been able to carry out the work due to lack of extension of the construction period of the GP building, he said, “According to the amended Procurement Act, the process will now proceed. ’
The then Jhapa District Development Committee had awarded the contract for the construction of the hall at a cost of Rs 127.26 million. Prera-Shah JV Company had signed the construction agreement on July 1, 2017 and its deadline expired on September 1, 2018. Mayor Pokharel said that the contractor company has already paid around Rs 110 million.
Earlier in April, a team led by Mayor Pokharel had reached the Prime Minister’s official residence in Baluwatar with a memorandum demanding budget for the construction of the GP building. Receiving the memorandum, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli pledged to create an environment where the construction period would be extended by resolving the problems in the construction of the building. “We had met the Prime Minister as well as Minister for Urban Development Prakash Man Singh and put forth our views,” he said, adding, “I thank National Assembly member Krishna Prasad Sitaula for taking initiative for the building.” ’
The then Prime Minister Sushil Koirala, former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, former Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ and other top leaders had jointly laid the foundation stone of the multi-purpose hall on July 15, 2018. The auditorium is 53 metres long and 34 metres wide, which has been started on the vacant land of the District Coordination Committee located on the western side of the Mechi Stadium. There is a plan to construct 27 shutters for commercial purposes on the first floor, three bank flats on the second floor and a state-of-the-art meeting hall with a capacity of 1,000 people on the third floor.
प्रतिक्रिया दिनुहोस्