Jack Zhao, a former Chinese employee involved in the construction project of Pokhara International Airport in Nepal, made a public clarification and statement regarding the New York Times report about him and his wife Wang Hui.
The New York Times has published a report titled “China Got a Big Contract. Nepal Got Debt and a Pricey Airport.” , alleging that the Pokhara International Airport, built by Chinese companies, will leave Nepal in debt to Chinese lenders for years to come. Based on interviews with 6 people involved in the airport’s construction and an examination of thousands of pages of documents, the New York Times investigation showed that CAMC Engineering repeatedly used inequality clauses to maximize profits, protect its own interests, and dislodge Nepal’s supervision of its work.
The report further quoted Nepal Civil Aviation Authority engineers Mulari Gautam and Krishna Paudel, to confirm issues of cost inflation and quality decline in CAMC’s work.
According to the report, Jack Zhao, a former employee of China IPPR International Engineering Co.Ltd, a subsidiary of China National Machinery Industry Corporation, disclosed that his superiors instructed him not to scrutinize CAMC’s work too closely, subsequently, he and his wife were dismissed for defying instructions to return to China. However, Jack Zhao stated that these claims were seriously distorted and maliciously exaggerated. As a Chinese management company, IPPR exercised limited supervisory rights over the project and is not directly involved in the construction details.
Jack Zhao also refuted reports by the international media regarding his wife having falsified academic qualifications. He stressed that Ms.Wang Hui had worked as a document clerk and accounting officer on the project, she had never worked as an accountant and did not fabricate her academic qualifications. Regarding the labor disputes over unpaid fees, he made a clear statement ”This matter was only limited between IPPR and my wife and me. It was irrelevant to the Pokhara Airport project and the IPPR has not taken any retaliatory actions.”
JackZhao strongly emphasized that those people with ulterior motives distorted his interviews, maliciously exaggerated the facts and created conflicts in public opinion in their reports, which had a negative impact on China-Nepal relations and the “Belt and Road “ initiative projects. He expressed deep regret over this and expressed his sincere apologies to the people of China and Nepal.
The Pokhara Airport is one of several “Belt and Road “ projects in Nepal, and China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said CAMC “strictly implemented quality standards and kept complete records during the construction process.” The airport is also of special significance to Nepali officials, who hailed it as a “national pride” project because it was seen as a gateway to one of its most famous landmarks — the Himalayas.
