Airport-related policies contradict each other
KATHMANDU, JUL 09
The policies and programmes of the government unveiled on Wednesday has accorded priority to constructing one airfield in each remote hill district considering the importance of small airports and rural air connectivity.
However, the policy contradicts with the government’s previous announcement. The principles and priorities of Appropriation Bill presented by Finance Minister Ram Sharan Mahat in the Legislature-Parliament meeting recently has said no airports should be constructed until the ongoing projects are completed. A dozen of airports, including few international airports, are in construction phases.
Under the new policy, the government said it would reclassify domestic airports taking into account physical infrastructure, air traffic density and future business possibilities. Hill airports make up 37.5 percent of the total airports in Nepal.
“One airfield will be established in each remote hill district after doing feasibility studies,” the government said. According to a study of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (Caan), Nepal has a large airport network consisting of 48 airports. Among them, 18 are in the hills.
However, only 34 airports handle regular flights. The study showed that 29 are short take-off and landing (STOL) airstrips. Most of the airports have been classified as social airports, meaning that they do not generate revenue but are a lifeline to people living in remote regions. Caan makes operating profits from only seven airports.
Nepal ranks 94th among countries having the most number of airfields recognizable from the air. In South Asia, India tops the chart and is 21st globally with 346 airports. Pakistan has 151 airports, Afghanistan 52, Sri Lanka 19, Bangladesh 18 and Maldives 9. There are only two airports in Bhutan.
To reduce air traffic at Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), the government’s policy said that domestic airlines would be encouraged to operate from bases outside Kathmandu .
The policies and programmes have accorded priority to expanding the capacity, services and facilities at TIA as per international standards while completing the construction of Gautam Buddha International Airport within the stipulated time.
“The construction of Pokhara Regional International Airport will be initiated by completing the remaining procedures and concluding the acquisition of land and demarcation of the boundary. The construction of a second international airport at Nijgadh, Bara will be carried forward,” said the draft policies and programmes. Meanwhile, the government will move forward with the plan to bring in strategic partners at Nepal Airlines Corporation.
The government’s annual draft policies said that the reconstruction, conservation and promotion of archaeological, historical and cultural heritage sites would be carried out by according priority to developing them as attractive and safe tourist destinations and restoring the tourism sector to the pre-earthquake condition.
“A campaign will be conducted through diplomatic missions and the Non-Resident Nepali Association to disseminate information about the actual situation of Nepal following the earthquake that most of the heritage sites are safe and that it is safe to visit Nepal,” the draft policies said.
“The promotion and marketing of tourism sites of Nepal will be carried out in the international market and in the neighbouring countries of China and India.”
Source: The Kathmandu Post
