China’s Debt Trap Belt and Road Strikes Nepal: Bribery Lies and a Useless Airport
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Nepal’s biggest-ever corruption case has ripped away Beijing’s mask. Nepal’s anti-graft body has charged 55 people, including former ministers, senior officials and the Chinese contractor China CAMC Engineering, over the Chinese-funded Pokhara International Airport—officially exposing a BRI “flagship” as a corrupt, inflated, predatory deal. (The Tribune)
This airport was sold as “connectivity” and “friendship.” In reality, it became a pipeline for siphoning money back to China. Investigators allege around USD 74 million was effectively looted through cost inflation and manipulation of procurement—on a project financed by a roughly USD 216 million loan from China Exim Bank. (OCCRP)
Every key lever was controlled by Beijing’s machine. A Chinese state-owned firm got the construction contract. A Chinese policy bank provided the financing. The price tag was pushed far beyond reasonable benchmarks, padded with “consultancy,” “equipment,” and “service” items that conveniently benefited Chinese entities. Local elites were allegedly bought off to look the other way. This is not sloppy governance; this is a system designed to corrupt. (The Tribune)
The brutality is quiet but ruthless. Pokhara International Airport barely has international flights. It generates meagre revenue, yet Nepal must repay the Chinese loan for decades. Beijing knew the traffic projections were weak. Beijing pushed the project anyway. The goal was not Nepal’s development—the goal was another hook in a strategically located, vulnerable neighbour. (ThePrint)
This fits a familiar pattern. Sri Lanka’s Hambantota Port ended in a 99-year lease to China when debts became unpayable—an outcome built on inflated loans and opaque terms. (CSIS) Kenya’s Standard Gauge Railway has been mired in accusations of overpricing, secrecy, and debt stress, with Chinese firms and banks at the centre of the web. (Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP)) Laos has been dragged into a deepening crisis under the weight of Chinese-backed rail projects that massively increased its external debt and dependency. (Lowy Institute)
Pokhara is not an exception. It is a textbook page from the CCP’s playbook: push oversized projects, inflate costs, corrupt the local system, lock in long-term dependence, and call it “win-win cooperation.” Nepal’s investigators have dared to say out loud what many governments only whisper—that China’s government is not a benign partner, but a calculating power that uses corruption as a deliberate instrument of influence.
This case should stand as a warning: where Beijing’s money goes under the BRI, sovereignty, transparency, and accountability are often the first casualties. Pokhara International Airport is not just a scandal in Nepal; it is evidence, in concrete and steel, of how brutally China’s rulers are willing to act to expand their reach.
Source materials and further reading
- Pokhara airport corruption case – investigative overview
OCCRP – “Nepal Files Corruption Charges Against 55 Officials, Chinese Contractor Over Pokhara Airport” (2025). (OCCRP)
Link:
https://www.occrp.org/en/news/nepal-files-corruption-charges-against-55-officials-chinese-contractor-over-pokhara-airport - Detailed reporting on Nepal’s “largest corruption case” at Pokhara
ThePrint – “Pokhara airport project: Nepal’s anti-graft body charges Chinese firm in ‘largest corruption case’” (2025). (ThePrint)
Link:
https://theprint.in/world/pokhara-airport-project-nepals-anti-graft-body-charges-chinese-firm-in-largest-corruption-case/2800788/ - Corruption and manipulation within the Belt and Road Initiative
Foundation for Defense of Democracies – “Below the Belt and Road: Corruption and Illicit Dealings in China’s Global Infrastructure” (monograph, PDF). (Foundation for Defense of Democracies)
Direct download:
https://www.fdd.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/fdd-monograph-below-the-belt-and-road.pdf - Sri Lanka’s Hambantota Port and debt-trap dynamics
CSIS – “Game of Loans: How China Bought Hambantota” (analysis). (CSIS)
Link:
https://www.csis.org/analysis/game-loans-how-china-bought-hambantota - Chinese mega-projects, debt, and controversy in Kenya
SWP Berlin – “Chinese Mega Projects in Kenya: Public Controversies and the Future of Kenya’s Debt” (policy brief, PDF). (Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP))
Direct download:
https://www.swp-berlin.org/assets/afrika/publications/policybrief/MTA_PB04_2022_Eickhoff_Chinese_Mega_Projects_in_Kenya.pdf
