Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoCTCA), Rabindra Adhikari stated that almost 40 investors have shown interest to construct the proposed Nijgadh International Airport, Bara.
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.
According to the source, London-based Company WGP Global, in conjunction with its project partner Uniel Holdings, has expressed an interest to lead a team to design, construct, finance and manage the project while Hordes of foreign investors have expressed interest to develop the project, but the government is reluctant to cash in on the opportunity.
Similarly, Malaysian government had proposed implementing a fully-financed construction of the airport under a ‘design, finance, build, operate and transfer’ (DFBOT) model through a government-to-government deal.
Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has estimated $1.21 billion for the construction at the site and stated that around 20 million passengers would be handled annually at the first phase.
The government announced inviting tenders for the construction of the airport by this fiscal year while presenting the budget statement for fiscal 2017/18 to Parliament.
Government has set up a high level committee under Tourism Minister (MoCTCA) Rabindra Adhikari for smooth and easy construction of Nijgadh Airport in Bara district.
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of the airport in nijgadh has already been made and after the Ministry of Forests and Environment accept the EIA, the work of deforestation will be conducted by the Nepal Army for the construction of the airport.
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. There will be 6 boarding gates along with 34 check in counters, 6 security checks 34 inspections and 8 custom checks counters in airport terminal which can welcome 6 million passengers annually. According to a Korean company’s feasibility study, the Nijgadh airport will be able to handle 15 million passengers annually and accommodate the Airbus A380 super jumbo after the first phase of construction.
Source: kathmandupost.ekantipur.com
