Construction of Pokhara Regional Intl Airport begins

Pokhara / Aug 2: The construction of the Pokhara Regional International Airport has started. Formally initiating the construction works, Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Jitendra Narayan Dev said the Pokhara regional international airport would be an important basis for the development of tourism.

He stressed on the expansion of air routes along with the construction of the regional international airports, and the Ministry would work on this.

Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Yagya Bahadur Thapa said the construction of an international airport in Pokhara was the dream of the Pokhara folks for over 40 years and the initiation of the works on the airport construction was a matter of pride for all the Pokharelis.

He further said issues as land acquition, distribution of the compensation among others which are related to the public would be addressed for easing the construction, calling on all to extend cooperation for the timely completion of the airport construction project. Jerry Yang, Asia Pacific Division General Manager of China CAMC Engineering Corporation Limited, said this in the meeting organized here today by the Pokhara Regional International Airport Construction High-level Cooperation Committee. The meeting was called after an onsite inspection to deliberate on the construction process of the airport.

China CAMC Engineering Corporation Limited is constructing the airport. Jerry informed that 110 individuals including 60 workers and other technicians were engaged in the construction work at present. He added that the construction of the branch office and temporary camps has already been started for that purpose.

Coordinator of the Pokhara Regional International Airport Construction High-level Cooperation Committee, lawmaker Rabindra Adhikari said a long time has been spent on the preparatory phase of the airport construction and now we all have to work so that the construction is completed by July 10, 2021. Adhikari is also the president of the parliamentary Development Committee.

According to him, today’s meeting thanked all who helped in the preparatory phase of the airport construction. He urged the Pokhara-Lekhnath Metropolitan City to manage the landfill site close to the under-construction airport site and the Chief District Officer of Kaski district to complete all the process of acquiring the land that has to be acquired for the project.

Director General of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, Sanjaya Gautam said the cooperation of all the stakeholders was needed for the completion of the airport construction on time.

Lawmakers Sarada Poudel and Sita Giri, Airport Construction Project director Pradip Adhikari, former president of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), Ananda Raj Mulmi, president of Pokhara Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Bishwa Shankar Palikhe, among others stressed on the need for the State to prioritize the construction of supporting infrastructures along with the construction of the airport. RSS