93 percent of work of Pokhara airport completed

The construction work of the Regional International Airport under construction in Pokhara has reached the final stage.

The Pokhara Regional International Airport Project has stated that 93 percent of the work of the airport, which is being constructed with the concessional loan of Rs 22 billion from Exim Bank of China, has been completed so far. After the completion of the main construction work and mechanical connection of the airport, it will be handed over by the Chinese construction company CAMCE.

On the occasion of Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi's visit to Nepal, a program has been decided to hand over the infrastructure of Pokhara International Airport to the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) today.

According to him, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will hand over the 'symbolic key' to Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers this evening. At the same time, Minister for Tourism Prem Bahadur Ale will present a letter of appreciation to the Chinese construction company at the Pokhara project site. The airport is being handed over as the main construction work and mechanical connection work have been completed.

The main works of the airport including runway, terminal building, air traffic control (ATC) building, 14 different buildings, and taxiways have been completed.

Sabin Phuyal, the senior officer of the airport project, said that all the main works of the airport have been completed and only some general works are left. The government plans to bring the airport into operation within this year.

He said, “Runway, terminal building, installation of mechanical equipment, lighting, and other major works have been completed. All that remains is fencing, passenger body builds, and some general drainage work. It won't take long now. ” Although the main work of the project has been completed as per the agreement with the construction company, there is still work to be done for the operation of the airport.

The Council of Ministers had earlier approved the Environmental Impact Assessment Report with two preconditions for submitting a supplementary report and concluding an agreement with the forest. The supplementary report has been submitted to the Ministry of Forest and Environment and is in the process of approval, said Phuyal. According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards, the mountain has to be cut by 40 percent for the safety of flight and landing.

Established as a tourist city, Pokhara was planned to build an airport four decades ago to establish direct connectivity with other cities of the world through air connectivity. The long-awaited plan came in 2074 BS and the work started.

Despite an agreement to complete and hand over the work by July 10, 2021, work at the airport was halted last year due to a corona outbreak.

Construction company China CAMC Engineering had started work on the airport in July 2074 BS. For this, a trade agreement was signed on May 22, 2014, between the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal and China CAMC.

Then on March 21, 2016, a loan agreement was signed between the Government of Nepal and the Government of China. On June 5 of the same year, a concessional loan agreement was signed between the government and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

The loan was approved by the Exim Bank of China on May 31, 2017. The construction work was started on February 25, 2018, after the Government of Nepal, the Civil Aviation Authority, and the Chinese Exim Bank secured financial resources for the construction of the airport.

According to the EPC (Engineering Procurement and Construction) model, the airport has been built on the Fordy model in accordance with the standards of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). Boeing 757 and Airbus 219 model 'narrowbody' aircraft will be able to take off and land at this airport.

Three thousand 106 ropanis of land was acquired for the first time in 1975 AD for the airport in Savik Chhinedanda, now Pokhara Metropolitan City-14. After that, in 2014 AD, out of 521 additional lands, 515 ropanis of land and 35 houses were acquired. Last time, 59 ropanis of land and 34 houses were acquired for Outer Periphery Road.