Apex court asks govt to halt construction works on Nijgadh airport

Kathmandu / Dec 22: The Supreme Court on Sunday asked the government agencies concerned to put on hold the ongoing construction works on the proposed Nijgadh airport in Bara district.

Issuing an interim order, the apex court ordered the government not to start the airport construction work until the final order is issued.

Responding to public interest litigation filed by a group of lawyers, the single bench of Chief Justice Cholendra Sumshere Rana and justice Kumar Regmi ordered the Office of the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation not to begin the airport construction work until the final order is issued.

Earlier on December 15, both the writ petitioners and government representatives were summoned before the court to discuss the issue.

A group of advocates and nature conservationists moved the court demanding that the airport be constructed somewhere else, but not in Nijgadh. They argue that if the second international airport is constructed in Nijgadh, it could cause a huge loss to the ecological system as a big chunk of forest land will need to be cleared.

Activists have long been campaigning against the government’s plan to build a second international airport in Bara district.

In the PIL filed at the apex court, the petitioners also claimed that there is no proper Environment Impact Assessment. They have been suggesting Murtiya in Sarlahi district instead of Nijgadh for the location of the new airport.

The interim order comes at a time when the government was all set to begin pre-construction work on the airport.

The tourism ministry wants to start site clearance and begin road construction in the first phase of construction.

Nijgadh airport is one of the government’s top priority projects and is categorized as a national pride project.

The Investment Board Nepal (IBN) on September 23 shortlisted Zurich Airport International AG for the construction of the airport. Seven companies had submitted letters of intent for the project but IBN shortlisted only Zurich Airport International AG, stating that its LOI alone matched the eligibility criteria set by the board.

The project is to be developed on a public-private partnership model.

The estimated cost for the construction of Nijgadh International Airport is Rs 670 billion.

The board had showcased the airport project during the Investment Summit 2019 held in March.