December 31: Stakeholders have pointed out the need to expedite the construction of Nijgadh International Airport in order to manage air traffic congestion at the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) in the future.

Minister of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, MPs of various parties, former director general of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal as well as infrastructure experts have said that there is no alternative to a new airport in Nijgadh.

Speaking at a function organized by the Trade Union of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Sudan Kirati, said that Tribhuvan International Airport will not be able to bear the current load after five years.

“Hence, the Council of Minister has approved to build Nijgarh International Airport,” said Kirati.

Nepali Congress MP Uday Shamsher Rana said that Nijgadh Airport should be built but the government must learn lessons from the two newly-built airport -- Gautam Buddha International Airport (GBIA) and Pokhara Regional International Airport (PRIA). 

"These two airports are struggling to operate even after the construction," Rana said, "Let's conduct an in-depth study with India on issues such as air route, air space, commercial modality, etc. while constructing Nijgadh," he added.

Similarly, Manish Jha, MP of the Rastra Swatantra Party, said that Nijgadh should not be limited to discussion. He said that delaying the project and keeping it only in discussion has only increased the price of land. "It is also necessary to invest in studies and research," he added.

Birendra Deuja, former director general of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), and the key speaker of the program, said that even though Nijgadh airport was identified 30 years ago, no progress has been made so far. He said that there should not be much protest for chopping off the trees and environmental protest for infrastructure development.

"The Gautam Buddha and Pokhara International airports are not hardly operational," said Deuja, "There is no alternative to Nijgadh airport but CAAN’s preparation is not adequate.”

Deuja also said that there is a need for a policy to encourage chartered flights in those airports that do not have international flights.

As the Tribhuvan International Airport cannot cope with the arrival of 1-1.2 million tourists at present, the stakeholders emphasized that Nijgadh International Airport should be built keeping in mind the increasing number of tourists. 

Pradeep Adhikari, director general of the CAAN, said that there is no alternative to Nijgadh airport. He also said that CAAN will build Nijgadh in a public-private partnership (PPP) model.

"We cannot say that Gautam Buddha and Pokhara International airports not financially viable," said the Adhikari, "There should not be any excuse to build an airport just because of debt issue. CAAN can pay the debt, and the passengers should not be denied international services."