Alternative international airport
Nepal was cut off from the rest of the world for 83 hours after a Turkish Airlines aircraft skidded off the runway while landing at Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) in Kathmandu on March 4. Save domestic flights, not a single international flight was operated from the country’s international airport for nearly four days. Thousands of people were left stranded and it severely affected country’s tourism industry. The incident showed how desperately Nepal needs an alternative international airport.
As TIA has already reached its saturation point, aviation experts had long been emphasizing the need for an alternative international airport. Government officials, too, have realized this. The government has floated three international airport projects — upgradation of Gautam Buddha Airport (GBA) in Bhairahawa into a regional international airport, construction of regional international airport in Pokhara, and construction of a full-fledged international airport in Nijgadh of Bara. But work on these projects is moving in snail’s pace. Though civil works of Gautam Buddha Airport has already begun, works on other two projects are yet to start.
Northwest Civil Aviation Airport Construction Group of China, the civil contractor of Gautam Buddha Airport, has begun diversion works on Ghagra Khola. The airport project plans to award tender for installation of navigation and communication equipment by the end of this year. The airport will have a 3,000-meter runway which is sufficient to serve as an alternative international airport, according to aviation experts. Upon completion of the first phase, the airport will be able to serve 760,000 passengers annually. Similarly, second phase, which will begin after 10 years, is complete, the airport will be able to handle 2 million passengers annually. Work on Pokhara airport is yet to kick-start. China CAMC Engineering Co, Ltd (CAMCE) has bagged the contract to build the airport but work will begin only after China’s Exim Bank sanctions loan for the project. The airport, which will spread over 200 hectares, will have 2,500-meter long runway. It will be able to handle medium category jets like Boeing 757 and Airbus 320.
The Bara airport project is limited only in paper so far. Initial study carried out by South Korean firm Landmark Worldwide (LMW) has estimated the cost of first phase works at $650 million. The airport, which will be completed in three phases, will be able to handle 60 million passengers by the end of the third phase. It will have two 4,700-meter runways. Works of first phase will be completed in six years, as per the project design.
As aviation is one of the most important aspects in today’s world, the government should put focus on expansion of civil aviation service. Learning lessons from the Turkish Airlines incident, it should, without further delay, focus on the international airport projects and make sure that these projects do not face obstructions or suffer from fund crunch.
