September 5: The government is preparing to reopen Meghauli Airport in Chitwan.  The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal informed that the airport will be reopened after upgrading it.

CAAN, the aviation governing body of Nepal, has already started topography survey using digital technology under the airport upgrading masterplan.

Former Prime Minister and CPN Maoist Chairperson Pushpa Kamal Dahal inaugurated the topography survey amid a programme on Saturday. On the occasion, Dahal said that the airport will be upgraded soon and then it will come into operation once again.

Director General of CAAN Pradeep Adhikari informed that they will issue tender bids for upgrading the airport soon after the topography survey report is ready.

“The process of upgrading the airport has already begun. We will issue tender bids by fulfilling all the requirements once the field survey report is ready,” Adhikari said, adding, “This airport will be operational soon.”

Bharatpur Metropolitan City’s Mayor Renu Dahal said that the metropolis had been making attempts to reopen the airport since a long time. She said that the reopening of the airport will boost tourism in the area. Stating that the airport will also help in generating income for the locals, Mayor Dahal urged CAAN to upgrade the airport as soon as possible.

CAAN informed that it will take ten days less to prepare the report through topography survey than the traditional survey method. It will be easier to upgrade the airport once the mapping is done through DGPS and drone. The surveyors say that there is no compulsion to visit the field for mapping because it is done through advanced technology.

At present, the runway of Meghauli Airport is just a grassland.  The runway is 1000 meters long. The airport was closed about twelve years ago after the government banned operation of hotels inside the Chitwan National Park in November/December 2010.  

Meghauli is 24 kilometers to the south of Bharatpur.