Dhurmus Suntali Foundation withdraws from stadium construction

Dhurmus Suntali Foundation has withdrawn from the construction work of Gautam Buddha International Cricket Stadium. The foundation has requested the Bharatpur Municipal Corporation to take ownership.

The ownership is about to be transferred as mentioned in the agreement with the corporation after the financial collection failed. The Foundation has requested to take ownership as mentioned in the MoU as the construction work has been halted for the past five months due to a complicated and difficult situation to raising financial resources due to COVID outbreak.

In a letter to the metropolis, the foundation said, "As mentioned in point 8 of the memorandum of understanding between the foundation and the Bharatpur metropolis, the construction of the stadium has become difficult due to lack of financial resources due to the global epidemic COVID-19."

The agreement stipulates that ownership can be transferred during construction if special circumstances arise. It has been stated that the owner will be handed over to the corporation after completing the construction under normal circumstances. Metropolitan Chief Renu Dahal said that the foundation had requested for the transfer of ownership saying that it was difficult to complete the construction.

She explained that the necessary process has been taken forward after the decision was taken from the executive meeting of the corporation. In this regard, the work has been taken forward in consultation with Youth and Sports Minister Maheshwar Jung Gahatraj. The foundation withdrew after the metropolis asked the foundation to move ahead with the work or transfer ownership as per the agreement.

The corporation has made the land available for the stadium in coordination with Tribhuvan University and the Agriculture and Forestry University. Although led by the foundation, the corporation has a direct role to play in raising most of the financial support. 

Rambandhu Subedi, chief administrative officer of the metropolis, has decided to send the intensive urban and building construction project to Bharatpur to study the financial and technical aspects of the report submitted by the foundation.

The chairman of the foundation, Sitaram Kattel, had been saying that the work had to be stopped after going through an extreme financial crisis. The foundation has claimed that 35 per cent of the physical infrastructure of the stadium has been completed. 

It is estimated that around Rs. 3 billion will be spent to complete the stadium. The work of the stadium was started on January 3 in Kathmandu in the presence of the then Prime Minister by signing a special agreement with Bharatpur Metropolitan City.