Nepal Army to Import ‘COVID-19 Medical Gear’ From China

Following allegations of large-scale corruption in the deal, the Nepali Government has canceled the contract with the Omni Tech Group to import necessary coronavirus testing kits, masks and medical equipment from China.

Two months ago, the government has awarded the contract to the private company on the condition that it will import the goods within 5 days.

However, the Omni had managed to procure only 10% of the total 19 items including protective gear, personal protective equipment, gloves, masks and reagents worth USD 10,390,400.

So far, the Omni had brought 10 tonnes of medical goods from China on March 29, 2020 and had chartered another flight to bring the second consignment on April 2, 2020.

Omni has been accused of delayed procurement, low quality and inflated price of the medical equipment.

In the same line, the government has confiscated NPR 50 million for the over deal that was worth over a billion rupees.

After canceling the ‘controversial procurement deal’ with the Omni Group, the Nepali Government has decided to entrust the Nepali Army to procure the required medical equipment from China.

Moreover, the government also planned to use local suppliers to address the shortage of protective gear and reagents.

The Nepali Government has decided to procure-

• 200,000 ordinary surgical gloves at NPR 22 each
• 7,000 thick gloves at NPR 125 each
• 15,000 units of scrub tops at NPR 1000 each
• 9,000 face shield plastics at NPR 300 each

So far, Nepal has reported only six coronavirus infection cases. However, the government has decided to enhance all its healthcare facilities with necessary medical equipment to combat COVID-19 in case of an outbreak.

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