The landowners of Tongiya society of the Jitpur, Simara where the construction of second international airport (SIA) will be going on has been compensated worth NRs 147.1 million by the government. Senior Officer of the airport Project Implementation Section Office said 52 of the landowners of 140 who applied for the compensation have been compensated the amount.
The officer said the Compensation Determination Committee is on the way to distribute Rs 80 million to 21 compensation applicants in the second round. Further he added that the work of inspection of the land of 60 other landowners who are yet to apply for the compensation has been started by the Land Reform and Management Office.
Majority of the land of designated 11,875 bighas lies in the forest area and works of fortresses have been completed in 11,765 bighas land of the airport. However, there is a possibility of change in land allocated for the project belonging to different landowners although officers involved in the project have said only 110 bighas of land belongs to the landowners.
Nepal Army has taken the responsibility of constructing peripheral road and eradicating trees inside the project area. And Authorization has been directed to provide report on environmental status and impact from time to time during the construction period. One of the renowned Hotel owner and Real estate businessman said, this airport will help to address the lack of sufficient intl’ airports in Nepal.
He also said that lack of second international airport has compelled many foreign tourists travelling to Nepal land in other countries, so the airport could bring solution to this problem. Not only this it will help create job opportunities in Province-2 and aid in tourism development, he affirmed.
After the government started searching for an alternative to Tribhuvan International Airport in 2014, this project was born out with the budget of Rs700 million for the construction. The officers involved in the project told the project will be divided into 3 parts. Modern equipment can be installed at the airport as large area has been allocated for its construction. Officials said upon the completion of the construction, this airport can withhold an annual traffic of 34 thousand planes and 60 million passengers.
The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of the SIA has already been approved by the Ministry of Forest and Environment which has provided go-ahead for the further processes.
