NEA to build dedicated feeder line to GBIA

Kathmandu, August 12

Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) is gearing up to build a dedicated feeder line to Gautam Buddha International Airport (GBIA), as the project has been facing delays owing to lack of adequate power supply.

At a time when the GBIA project developers have been complaining that NEA has largely been ignoring their calls to increase the supply of electricity to the GBIA site, thereby putting the fate of the project in doubt, the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation had summoned the concerned stakeholders, including officials from the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation and NEA, on Sunday to resolve the issue.

During the meeting, NEA officials assured to build the dedicated transmission lines to the GBIA as soon as possible, according to one MoCTCA official.

Tourism Minister Yogesh Kumar Bhattarai had urged cooperation from all concerned for timely completion of GBIA — a national pride project. “The issue regarding round-the-clock power supply to GBIA project site needs to be sorted out as soon as possible,” he said, as per the official.

However, Energy Minister Barsha Man Pun pointed out that the government had been unable to increase the power supply to the project site as the affected locals there have been protesting seeking additional compensation related to road expansion.

“The protest has also affected our efforts to provide a dedicated feeder line to the GBIA site,” he added, the official said.

But eventually it was agreed that all concerned government authorities, including the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport and Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal would coordinate and cooperate for the dedicated transmission line to GBIA.

Due to the inability of the contractor to complete the project within the previously set deadline of June, the government has extended the project completion deadline of GBIA for the third time to December this year. Till date, more than 80 per cent of the work has been completed in the project.