Ramechhap, November 2 Land acquisition process for expansion of Manthali airport has begun in Ramechhap. Airport expansion work was started with the aim of developing the airport as a regional level airport. Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal started the work for the same. Manthali airport expansion and reforms project was included in the list of 100 projects under the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Civil Aviation. According to CAAN, the existing 530-metre runway length of the airport will be expanded to 900 metres. Some private land will be acquired while the public land near the banks of the Koshi River will also be used for expanding the airport. A Tara Air plane slid off the runway and had stopped at a vegetable farm of a local farmer while landing due to narrow runway, four months ago, in Manthali airport. According to an airport official, twin otters, among other small planes, could land even during the airport expansion period. CDO Lila Kumari KC Pandey said safety and security infrastructure would be managed properly during expansion of the airport.