Kathmandu, May 25

The government has finally approved the environmental impact assessment (EIA) report of the Nijgadh International Airport in Bara district.

The Ministry of Forests and Environment has approved the EIA report and forwarded it to the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoCTCA) on Thursday, informed Rabindra Adhikari, minister of MoCTCA.

Minister Adhikari further said the completion of the EIA has cleared the way for the project to move ahead.

Similarly, MoCTCA had also set the target to finalise the construction modality of the Nijgadh International Airport in its 100-day action plan, but it has been unable to achieve the goal. Things have not moved ahead as expected because of ongoing discussions regarding the payment for the detailed feasibility study of the planned airport that was carried out by a Korean company called Landmark Worldwide (LMW).

However, Minister Adhikari informed that the ministry is close to finalising negotiations with LMW and the payment will soon be disbursed. Meanwhile, the government has plans to cut down 2.4 million trees to build the much talked about international airport.