The renovation of the runway of Nepalgunj Airport has been delayed which has affected the passengers including tourists. The airport has been out of operation after 3 pm due to which the passengers of Kathmandu, Karnali and Nepalgunj have been deprived of sufficient flight services.
The construction work was handover to Pappu Construction on December 30, 2017 which is working at the estimated cost of Nrs 130 million. As per the information, only 30 percent work has been completed till now. Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has extended 88 days more after the work was not done in time and they have agreed to finish the renovation work on March 29, 2018.
However, there is still doubt in the construction company whether it will finish the project within allocated time frame. If the renovation work doesn’t complete till March then tourists opting to visit Kailash Mansover from Nepalgunj will face problem.
The air passenger visiting Kailash Mansarover usually increase from second week of April. Last year, around 12 thousand tourists from Nepalgunj had gone to Simikot and visited the pilgrimage site. Due to the escalating flow of passengers, the flights in Nepalgunj increased by about 22 percent.
According to the authority, the number of passengers traveling to Kailash Mansarover through Nepalgunj has increased from for the past two years. With the increasing number of tourists, Summit and Tara Airlines conduct over 4 daily flights from Nepalgunj to Simikot,Humla.
The construction work is being done and upgraded in the area of 5,500 acre of the airport, with a capacity of 1,500 meters long runway. Nepalgunj Airport has been handling around 20 flights daily flying from Kathmandu, Simikot and from other districts of Karnali zone. As per the project, area covered by the airport’s apron and the taxi zone will also be blacktopped by adding a layer to the existing surface.
