Kathmandu: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has summoned officials and construction entrepreneurs to the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers in Singha Durbar to address the delay in completing the international-standard parapet and floodlight installation at the Kirtipur cricket ground.

The meeting, held on Monday, saw the Prime Minister express serious dissatisfaction over the failure to meet the deadline. Those summoned included Gopal Prasad Sigdel, Secretary of the Ministry of Urban Development, and Chakrabarti Kantha, head of the Federal Secretariat and Management Office, which is overseeing the project.

PM Oli had made the completion of these works his first official directive upon assuming office on Ashad 11, pledging the project would be completed within 300 days. That deadline ends on Baisakh 24, yet both the parapet and floodlight installations remain incomplete. Agreements for the parapet and floodlight installations were signed with different contractors on Poush 19 and Poush 22, respectively.

In the meeting, PM Oli issued strict instructions to determine the cause of the delays, identify the parties responsible, and ensure the remaining work is completed within two months and to high quality standards.

Officials and contractors cited various reasons for the delay, including slow coordination among concerned bodies, technical design changes, weather disruptions, and delays in the LC (Letter of Credit) process.

Progress reports presented during the meeting indicated that:

-Parapet work has seen 45.19% financial progress

-Floodlight installation has achieved 55% physical progress and 23.81% financial progress

The project contracts were signed for Rs 492.567 million (parapet) and Rs 473.768 million (floodlight).

The discussion was also attended by Chief Advisor to the Prime Minister Bishnu Prasad Rimal, Chief Secretary Ek Narayan Aryal, and other high-level officials.