The construction of Pokhara International Airport, which was started in 2017 was scheduled to be completed on July 10, 2021.
Despite the Chinese contractor CAMCE insisting that the construction be completed and handed over six months ahead of schedule, the construction of the airport was postponed by one year till July 10, 2022, due to the COVID scare. It is reported that most of the infrastructure construction of the airport has been completed now.
As July 2022 approaches, the management of the landfill site near the airport is now seen as a major problem. For safe flight, the landfill site within a two-kilometer radius of the airport has to be managed by relocating it to a suitable location.
Airport chief Binesh Munkarmi said the airport would be completed by July but flights would not be possible without relocating the landfill site.
He says, "91 per cent of the work has been completed but if the landfill site is not shifted in time, there will be problems scheduling flights."
"We are looking for a suitable site for the landfill site, and we have only received assurances from the metropolis that it will be resolved soon," said Munkarmi.
The landfill site at Pokhara Metropolitan City Ward No. 14 Bachchebaduwa is currently about 2 km away from the airport. According to international aviation standards, landfill sites should not be within 10 km of the airport.
"The reason there should not be landfill sites near airports is that it can increase the activities of birds in the area which will prove challenging to the flight," says Bikram Gautam, the coordinator of the task force for the operation of Pokhara International Airport.
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