The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the proposed Second International Airport (SIA) at Nijgadh has finally been approved.
The approval has now provided a gateway for the initiation of the construction of SIA which is considered to a national pride project.
Honorable Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Mr. Rabindra Adhikari tweeted in his official account about the approval of the EIA.
Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has already allocated fund for the cost of National Pride Project (NPP) and has intended to apply a portion of the fund for with the request for proposals (RFP) has been issued. The proposal is for the preparations of Airport Master Plan and Detail Design of First Phase of Development of Second International Airport (SIA) in Bara district, Nepal.
Minister Adhikari reported that the investors’ interest seems to be based primarily on the hope that Nepal is now strong and stable. Now, we cannot delay the project construction. We are almost clear on the airport modality. The government won’t inject fund in developing the airport. We will take on board the private investors, he added.
Government is also preparing to finalize the construction of the proposed second international airport, Nijgadh International Airport in Public Private Partnership (PPP) model. The air security department from Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation has suggested that the construction project of airport is only possible in PPP model.
Previously, Ministry of Finance had advised to adopt Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model rather than Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Finance (EPCF) model for Nijgadh International Airport. Though the construction project was proposed since long time, choosing appropriate model became a confusion.
