Dipayal airport located at Doti which has been out of operation for long period is facing delay in the blacktopping project. As per the first agreement of Doti airport, additional time has been allocated till Ashar after the contract time was expired in Magh however, the project is unexpected to be completed by the time frame.
According to Engineer and site in-charge of CAAN, Naresh Kumar Rana, 35 percent of blacktopping work has been completed for the airport. During Maoist revolution, the airport halted its daily operation and from 2062 BS it was fully closed.
The project is awarded to Sapna Gyalba JB Construction Company for Rs 5.80 crores which is now expected to complete by Asar, 2075. Engineer Rana said that due to negligence and poor management of Construction Company, the work has been delayed.
According to the company official, Harka Bahadur Shah, cutting and filling work have finished and the blacktopping work will be started soon after the completing the base work. He also informed that the base work is at the final phase and the blacktopping work will be started within a few days.
Dipayal Airport was established 12 years ago and is the oldest in the entire far-west region. After services at the airport were disrupted citing ‘temporary halt’, the airport has yet to resume operation, except for when ministers fly here.
Citizens from Doti, Dadeldhura, Achham and Bajura are expected to receive services from the airport after it comes into operation. Also tourist number is expected to be increased afterwards.
