Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority has filed a corruption case against 14 individuals, including former finance minister Gyanendra Karki, over alleged irregularities in the construction of the Pokhara International Airport in Kaski.
Karki is the sixth former minister to be charged with corruption in the construction of the Pokhara International Airport. Earlier, former finance minister Dr. Ram Sharan Mahat, late former tourism minister Post Bahadur Bogati, former tourism minister Ram Kumar Shrestha, former tourism minister Bhim Prasad Acharya, and former tourism minister Deepak Chandra Amatya were charged with corruption in the case.
Along with Karki, those charged by the anti-graft body at the Special Court on Thursday include then finance secretary Shankar Prasad Adhikari; then tourism secretary Maheshwar Neupane; joint secretaries Suresh Acharya and Dunduraj Ghimire; former secretary Kewal Bhandari; directors general of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, Sanjiv Gautam and Pradeep Adhikari; under-secretary Yubaraj Pandey; section officer Urmila Bhandari; and engineer Yogesh Aryal. Likewise, Wang Bo and Yang Zhigang of the construction company China CAMC Engineering have also been charged with corruption.
The anti-graft body has sought damages worth Rs 3.62 billion in the case.
The CIAA earlier charged 55, including five former ministers, with corruption in the construction of the airport. It has sought more than Rs 8.36 billion in damages from them.
The airport, built with a Chinese soft loan, cost approximately Rs 22 billion. Inaugurated on January 1, 2023, the airport is yet to see a dependable international flight service.
