BIRATNAGAR, OCTOBER 5

If everything goes as planned, the existing airport in Biratnagar will be upgraded into an international airport. An understanding towards this end was reached at a programme in Biratnagar today.

In the presence of Federal Tourism Minister Yogesh Bhattarai and Province 1 Chief Minister Sherdhan Rai in Biratnagar metropolis, the provincial government and Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal signed a memorandum of understanding to upgrade the regional airport.

The upgradation is in line with the federal government’s policy of upgrading regional airports by taking the provincial governments on board. According to the plan, the existing 1,500-metre long runway will be doubled. The metropolis and the provincial government will facilitate acquisition of required land. Regarding managing of fund for, while CAAN is likely to bear 50 per cent of the cost, the provincial government and the metropolis are supposed to bear 40 per cent and 10 per cent of the estimated upgradation cost respectively.

To kick-start the project, CAAN has been entrusted with preparation of a master plan for the project.

It will then make recommendations for land acquisition and distribution of compensation to the federal government for approval.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on October 6, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.