Kathmandu, May 10 -- The Pokhara International Airport project, long touted as a landmark in Nepal's aviation history and a cornerstone for its tourism ambitions, has become a lightning rod of controversy.

From its early conception to its eventual completion, the airport's trajectory has been fraught with allegations of corruption, procedural manipulation, inflated costs, and emerging geopolitical entanglements.

Constructed with a $215.96 million soft loan from China's EXIM Bank and built by a Chinese state-owned enterprise, the project has come to symbolise the complexities and consequences of foreign-funded infrastructure in developing nations like Nepal.

Although China has denied all allegations of wrongdoing, a recent parliamentary...