Pokhara Regional International Airport under construction is ready to acquire additional land for completion of construction of airport project as the acquired land is insufficient after 10 months of construction work started.

The cost of the project will increase rapidly after acquisition of additional lands. However, local of the affected area have denied providing additional lands for the construction of airport.

Officials of the construction project of the airport stated that the acquisition process has already started due to the need of further land for the project. He also said that it has not been decided that how much land is required and preparations were being made for measuring the necessary land. The information is being made for acquisition of additional land for the airport and preparation for survey is going on.

Airline companies have asked additional land with the authority to build the aircraft hangar. Furthermore, Nepal Oil Corporation has also asked land for fuel storage purpose.

40 ropani lands have been demanded by NOC after 15 ropani land separated for fuel storage has been declared insufficient. Apart from this, there is no land for Helipad.

Airport project chief said that additional land is required as the land separated for aviation fuel storage was near to Apron which will risk the security of airport.

In addition, according to design, only three wide body aircraft can be parked at Apron. The number of tourist may increase in the future along with frequency of flights which requires large area for parking. The land has to be added because there will need for the apron and the infrastructure in upcoming future. If the required land was acquired at once, it would have been easy.

Four decades ago, the acquisition of 3,106 ropeni land of Pokhara-14, 15 and 18 woda was acquired. Later, additional 529 ropani land was acquired. 60 ropani lands were acquired again for constructing 60 kilometer road around the airport.

Prem Bahadur Karki, president of Pokhara-Leknath Metropolitan Municipality-14 also said that the letter has been prepared for the land acquisition for construction of the airport. He said that currently, we are planning to conduct survey only. “We have received order to inform the local about land acquisition but locals are against it”, Karki added.

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