June 14: The Federation of Contractors Association of Nepal (FCAN) has requested the government to provide vaccine against COVID-19 to the workers and laborers as well as construction entrepreneurs who are working at the forefront of development work. On Sunday, the federation requested Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Uma Shankar Argaria to make arrangements for vaccination.

The federation also expressed its views with the minister regarding the budget for the upcoming fiscal year and said that the provision of extending various projects for only six months is not scientific. The federation has demanded automatic extension of the deadline by one year for all the projects that have expired before April 29, 2021.

The federation has also demanded to postpone the entire procurement process including invitation for bids from the federal, state and local governments. The federation has drawn the attention of the minister saying that a large amount of dues of the construction companies are yet to be paid. Furthermore, the federation has also suggested stopping the process of inviting new bids without allocating budget for the payment of previous construction works.