August 29: fter a four-and-half-decade of wait, the Pokhara Regional International Airport is now almost complete. The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), the state-owned aviation regulator, during its recent meeting announced to formally operate the airport on 1 January, 2023.    
So far, the project worth around Rs 22 billion has witnessed 98 percent completion of construction works.  The construction of 14 buildings including the domestic and international terminals and decoration has been completed. Construction of the runway, a building for air traffic control room, airport aprons, taxi ways, parking lots, footpaths, roads linking the airport with the highway and subways has been over.    
The airport is almost ready and the work on managing a landfill site nearby and leveling of a hill at Ritthepani however remains to be accomplished, says Binesh Munakarmi, chief of the airport construction project. According to him, the leveling of hill will be complete within coming October.    
"It is a matter of happiness and pride for the residents of Pokhara and entire Gandaki Province that the airport, a dream project for the Pokhara folks, is operating soon after a longstanding struggle," says Bishwo Shankar Palikhe, a person who joined a struggle demanding the construction of the project. He called for managing a landfill site nearby before the operation of the project as birds hovering around may pose risks of bird strikes.    
Although the land acquisition started long ago since 2034 BS, the construction could not move ahead due to various reasons.

The project moved ahead only when the then Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on 13 April, 2016 laid the foundation stone of the project with the target of completing the construction works within four years.    
The airport is being upgraded with loans and grants worth around Rs 22 billion from the Exim Bank of China. The China CMC Engineering Company was awarded the contract to build the national pride project of Nepal which spans across approximately 3,700 ropanis of land.    
The airport has capacity to accommodate the landing and takeoff of Airbus 320 narrow-body aircraft and Boeing 735 aircraft. Its apron has capacity of parking three large and eight small aircraft at a time.    
The runway is 2,500 meters in length and 45 meters wide. There are 14 domestic and international terminal buildings.    
The Chinese construction company four months ago handed over the project to the Government of Nepal after completing 93 percent construction work.    
However, experts have warned that it is not possible to operate flights until the problem relating to the dumping site nearby is resolved.    
Shifting the dumping ground has become a pressing issue for Pokhara Metropolitan City. The landfill site around two kilometers away from the project should be shifted to operate the airport. But, the metropolis has yet to find a suitable place for the dumping waste.    
The metropolis has assured of shifting the dumping site, says Bikram Gautam, chief of the CAAN office, Pokhara.    
Currently, the CAAN is preparing to fill the existing landfill site with soils extracted from leveling the Ritthepani hill. As a result, birds flying around would go elsewhere without food for them and trees for their habitat, insists CAAN.    
However, the task is not easier, according to experts. Stating that the area is a habitat for birds including vultures and eagles, it will be difficult to drive away birds in a short span of time, argues Manshanta Ghimire, chairperson of the Pokhara Bird Society.    
According to available data, over 162 species of birds are found in the area. Of them, five are critically endangered and two are endangered. White vultures and brown vultures have made nests in the area since 2014, according to Ghimire.   -- RSS