The Chinese embassy in Kathmandu, the capital, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
If Beijing agrees to the request, it will be another indication of a strengthening relationship between the country’s new government and China.
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In July, Nepal’s biggest communist party joined forces with the Nepali Congress, the largest party in the country’s parliament, to create a coalition government, led by K.P. Sharma Oli. He has forged a reputation for opposing the influence of India, Nepal’s neighbour to the south and a regional rival to China, during three previous stints as prime minister.
His government has wasted no time cozying up to Beijing. On Thursday, he overturned a ban on TikTok, the popular social media app owned by Chinese technology giant ByteDance, that his predecessors had imposed less than a year ago.
On the same day, Nepal also said the two countries had agreed to a series of development projects including two to upgrade highways that connect to the Chinese border. They also agreed to build integrated check posts along the border between Nepal and China.
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Nepal’s economy, heavily reliant on overseas remittances and tourism, has struggled to recover since the COVID-19 pandemic. The international airport in Pokhara, a picturesque city set in the foothills of the Himalayas, was seen as a way to bolster tourism and breathe new life into the economy.
But so far, the airport has failed to attract any commercial international flights, largely because India has refused to grant permission for its carriers to fly in and out of Pokhara. This has raised fears that the airport would not generate enough revenue to pay back the loan from the Export-Import Bank of China. Nepal is scheduled to start repayment of the loan in 2026.
At the same time, there are two investigations into the airport’s construction. Nepal’s Commission for the Investigation of Abuse and Authority is looking into reports of corruption by the Chinese construction company for compromising construction quality to maximise profit. Nepali officials are also accused of accepting kickbacks while awarding the contract to CAMC. A separate parliamentary committee was formed to investigate possible irregularities in construction.
CAMC did not respond to a request for comment about the investigations.
Binoj Basnyat, a retired Nepali general working as a researcher with Rangsit University in Thailand, said China would probably convert the loan to a grant because it wanted to build a strong relationship with Nepal’s communist party. He also noted another benefit for China by agreeing to the request.
“The investigation into the corruption charges will quickly come to an end,” said Basnyat. “Nobody will talk about that any more.”
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
