Completion of Gautam Buddha International Airport delayed
Travel Biz News —-
Kathmandu – Construction works at Gautam Buddha International Airport is delayed due to technical problems.
The existing airport is being expanded into an international airport as a national pride project. Gautam Buddha International Airport, gateway to the international pilgrimage destination of Lumbini, the birthplace of Gautam Buddha, will be Nepal’s second international airport.
Construction works have halted at the Gautam Buddha International Airport due to unavailability of Chinese technicians and the shortage of construction materials.
Ninety percent works including the construction of the runway, the international terminal building, taxiway, control tower and rescue and fire-fighting facilities and installation of CCTV and some technical equipment, have been completed at the airport.
Nearly 45 Chinese technicians required for the construction have not been able to join the construction works due to suspension of international flights after the Covid-19 lockdown.
More than 275 Chinese and Nepali workers are deployed for construction there. The airport construction deadline was until March 31, 2020. It is estimated that the airport construction will prolong by nearly a year.
North West Civil Aviation Construction Company was awarded the contract in December 2014. The total estimated construction cost of the airport is Rs 6 .22 billion. The airport was initially slated to be ready in December 2017.
Meanwhile, a government committee has recommended that Germany’s Munich Airport not be appointed as the operator of Gautam Buddha International Airport.
In November last year, the government had formed a six-member team to negotiate with the German airport after it expressed interest in operating the new airport.
Though the MoCTCA had asked the company to submit a detailed plan , Munich is yet to submit its detailed plan, including the operation modality, fees and revenue sharing as the Covid-19 pandemic came up.
Munich Airport is the second busiest airport in Germany after Frankfurt in terms of passenger traffic, and the seventh busiest airport in Europe, handling 44.6 million passengers in 2017.
The proposed expansion of Gautam Buddha Int’l Airport connsists – construction of a runway of 3,000m length and 45m width and 2 perpendicular exit taxiways of 142.5m length and 38m width,expansion of apron on either side of the existing apron of 300m length and 150m width, including construction of equipment yards on either side of the existing apron, grading of shoulder strips , construction of airport periphery road, diversion of Ghaghra Khola and outer road, chin link fencing around the acquired land, pavement markings, landscaping around buildings, refurbishing and expansion of the existing terminal building for use as domestic terminal building, expansion in the terminal building , expansion of the existing ground floor for use as international terminal building, construction of new control tower building with communication and navigation facilities and construction of a new cargo building, according to CAAN.
Gautam Buddha Int’l Airport is located about 2 kms west from Bhairahawa, the district headquarters and is situated at an altitude of 109 meters above mean sea level. Lumbini is 20 km towards west from the airport.
June 22 , 2020
