Second international airport negotiations sought
KATHMANDU, JAN 30:
The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoCTCA) has suggested Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT) Committee to start negotiations with Landmark Worldwide Company for construction of second international airport at Nijgarh in Bara rather than call a public notice for project.
“Landmark Worldwide Company has already invested about Rs 250 million for the feasibility study, and has submitted its report to BOOT committee,” said joint secretary at the tourism ministry Ranjan Krishna Aryal.
“It will not be fair to announce a public notice without making initial negotiations with the Korean company,” he said, adding that the committee cannot disclose the report prepared by the Korean company to others.
“The committee should either keep the company in its priority list and start negotiations with it, or refund the amount that was invested in preparing the feasibility study.”
The tourism ministry has already referred the feasibility report prepared by Landmark Worldwide Company to the BOOT committee but the committee has not yet given its decision. According to the ministry, the BOOT committee is authorised to take the decision and recommend the name of the company to the cabinet for the final decision. “We cannot terminate the deal with the Korean company and announce a public notice,” Aryal added.
Landmark Worldwide Company had submitted the final report of the project study of the second international airport, which was estimated to cost $600 million. The company, in its feasibility study, has prepared a detailed report of runway, terminal and other necessary services.
According to the Landmark Worldwide Company’s feasibility study, the proposed airport can handle five to 15 million passengers annually and even accommodate the super-jumbo Airbus 380 after the first phase of construction. However, the company, in its final report, has added some conditions. It has asked the government to convert Tribhuwan International Airport (TIA) to a domestic one. Currently, TIA is the only international airport in the country.
According to the TIA office, domestic passenger movement has increased from one million in 2001 to 1.5 million in 2010 and will be close to two million by 2013. Similarly, domestic flight movement has increased from 63,159 in 2001 to 99,290 in 2010.
Source: THT
