Dhangadhi airport which has been closed for past 20 days for renovation has not been able to achieve its pace. The airport which has been closed for around 3 weeks has not been able to gain momentum lately.
Dhangadhi Airport, located at western Nepal was closed from May 5th for renovation of the airport runway and was scheduled to be closed for 1 month. Now, the closure of the airport is expected to be extended.
The airport has only attended 27 to 30 percent of work till now. Civil Aviation Authority Dhangadhi official stated that during renovation work, black swamp soil was discovered around the area.
During renovation work, at around 850 meter of the runway, the worker were laying chip rocks however the land around started eroding. While digging up, the loose clay was discovered at around 400 meter and extended to some 100 meters. Now the clay is being removed and replaced by new soil.
The work has also been hampered by the changing weather and the construction work is expected to take some more time.
On the other hand, Lumbini, Koshi and Neupane, Khadka, Koirala JB, the contractor company has stated to complete the work in contracted time.
After completion of runway project, the work on parking area will be initiated.
The runway of Dhangadhi Airport is the second biggest runway after the runway of Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA).
According to CAAN, the runway will expand 2-2 meters in each side and 60m wide and 1800 m long will be blacktopped.
At nearly 220 Million of investment, the airport’s runway and parking area will be renovated and the project was awarded to Lumbini, Koshi, and Neupane, Khadka, Koirala JB Kathmandu.
Currently, the parking area can only accommodate 3 aircrafts. The parking bay will also be expanded and 4 aircraft can be parked at once after the upgrade. Fire vehicle facilities will be added. Light services and communication equipment will be enhanced as well during this period.
5 daily flights were being operated by airlines that include Buddha Air, Shree Airlines, Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) before the airport operation came to halt.
Dhangadhi Airport is the only big airport situated in the far western region which has facilitated citizens of nearly 9 districts.
