True, another big airport can be built elsewhere, but it cannot serve as an alternative to the TIA
The Supreme Court's order on Thursday to halt the construction of Nijgadh International Airport in Bara and find a site elsewhere is a death knell to the government's plan to build an alternative airport to the airport in Kathmandu. The apex court had given the order in response to a public interest litigation citing environmental concerns. The airport's construction had landed in controversy ever since an environmental and social impact assessment carried out by the Tourism Ministry in 2017 had disclosed that a colossal number of trees - more than 2.4 million, mostly sal, trees - would need to be cleared to build the airport. Lying as it does close to the Parsa National Park, environmentalists and activists are concerned that the construction of the proposed airport would badly affect both the habitat of wildlife like the tiger, rhino and the elephant and the rich diversity of the forest. In December 2019, the Supreme Court had issued a stay order to immediately halt the felling of the trees.
The Nijgadh airport was mooted following two major air crashes in Kathmandu - that of Thai International and Pakistan International Airlines - in 1992. The airport to cost $3.45 billion would sprawl over 8,000 hectares and be the largest airport in South Asia, capable of handling up to 60 million passengers annually with the completion of its third phase. Environmental issues apart, there are, however, other concerns as well behind the activism against the airport's construction.
Drawing parallels to the construction of the Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport in Sri Lanka, which is in the midst of such a financial crisis that it cannot even pay for its fuel needs, there are worries that Nijgadh might push us into a similar debt burden. Also with Nepal's second international airport - the Gautam Buddha International Airport at Bhairahawa - having come into operation from this month, and a third one in Pokhara starting international flights anytime soon, it does sound plausible to question why the country needs a fourth international airport, all located in proximity to each other.
The government is bewildered by the court verdict, and so are the people of Madhes Pradesh, where this mammoth project is located. Also the timing of the court order when the project has moved ahead raises quite a few eyebrows as to whether there is some hidden interest other than environmental. The government has invested about Rs 2 billion to pay compensation and another Rs 300 million by the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) to revise the master plan. And the construction of the Kathmandu-Tarai fast-track is in full swing, whose cost has soared from Rs 86 billion in 2011 to Rs 213 now. The sole purpose behind building the 72-km expressway was to ferry passengers from the airport to the capital in a little over an hour. It is unclear if the court's order is for halting the construction of the airport for good, or if it wants its construction with minimum damage. The intention will be clear once the full text of the verdict is made available. True, a big airport can be built elsewhere, but it cannot serve as an alternative to the country's Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) in Kathmandu which has reached its saturation point.
Economic survey
The economic survey of the current fiscal 2021-22, tabled by Finance Minister Janardan Sharma at the House on Saturday, suggests that the economic structure of the country is gradually shifting from agriculture to the service sector, which is not a good sign for a least developed country like Nepal. The contribution of agriculture and industry to the country's economy is expected to decrease to 23.9 per cent and 14.3 per cent, respectively, while the service sector is expected to increase to 61.8 per cent.
The total contribution of agriculture and industry used to be 37.4 per cent and 17.5 per cent, respectively.
Contribution of the service sector used to stand at 45.1 per cent some two decades ago. The service sector is the most unstable and vulnerable sector, which does not generate enough job opportunities in the country. It is, therefore, high time to increase the contribution of agriculture and industry to boost domestic production, which also helps create income and job opportunities within the country. The service sector tends to crash all of a sudden should the country face an unpredictable situation like COVID-19 or a war as in Ukraine. So, we need to focus on agriculture and industry to make our economy sustainable.
A version of this article appears in the print on May 30, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
