Second Int’l Airport only alternative to saturating TIA

Sun, Mar 8, 2015 12:00 AM on Others, Others,

KATHMANDU, MAR 07 -

In 2011, flight operations at Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) were halted at least five times for more than three hours after the runway caved in.

In August 2013, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (Caan) asked all international carriers to find alternatives to their wide-body aircraft flying into TIA as the cracks on the runway reappeared every now and then.

Last November, the 18th Saarc Summit exposed Kathmandu’s limitations in handling VVIP visits. A number of international flights were told to operate at night, while all domestic carriers were asked to park their aircraft outside Kathmandu.

On Wednesday, TIA took an extended rest in its 63-year history after a Turkish Airlines jet skidded off the runway with 224 people on board. The airport was closed for the third consecutive day on Friday, forcing hundreds of travellers stranded.

These examples suggest TIA has reached its saturation point and any further delay in building another full-fledged international airport would worsen the situation at a time when Nepal’s tourism is expected to boom.

The government has started process to build two regional international airports (with single runway) in Bhairahawa and Pokhara, but experts say these airports are not technically sound to accommodate larger jets, suggesting Nepal’s connectivity with long-haul sectors would still be a distant dream.

According to a TIA report, wide-body aircraft operation is growing significantly worldwide, including in Nepal. In 2013, there were 1,000 operations of Airbus A330-300 aircraft, 955 of the Boeing 777 and 452 of the Airbus A330-200, and the numbers are expected to double in the next 20 years. “The only alternative to TIA is the second international airport (SIA) in Bara, Nijgadh,” said Tri Ratna Manandhar, former director general of Caan. The upgradation of Bhairahawa’s Gautam Buddha Airport into a regional international airport was launched on January 15.

The importance of the improvement plan lies in the airport being the front door to Lumbini, the birthplace of the Buddha which has been rapidly gaining popularity as an international pilgrimage destination, but suffers from poor access which has hindered growth.

The airport would serve as an alternative to TIA. “However, Nepal needs the Indian government’s help to make the airport commercially viable as during the take-off and landing, the aircraft should fly in the Indian airspace,” Manandhar said. The proposed regional international airport in Pokhara would not accommodate larger jets.

Where is SIA?

The government first announced the development of Nepal’s second international airport in Nijgadh, Bara, in early 2011. Korea’s Landmark Worldwide Company (LMW), which carried out a detailed feasibility study on the project had said the single-runway airport could be ready by 2015 if the construction began in 2011.

LMW’s study stated the airport could handle 5-15 million passengers annually and could even accommodate the Airbus 380 superjumbo after the first phase of construction. The study had estimated an investment of $650 million for the first phase.

The airport was proposed to be expanded in the second phase from 2022 to accommodate 30 million passengers annually. By the end of the third phase of construction, the airport would have a parallel runway, enabling it to handle 60 million passengers annually. The first passenger terminal would have an area of 75,500sqm, six boarding gates, 34 check-in counters, six security inspection counters, 35 immigration counters, eight customs inspection counters and six baggage claim counters.

The Tourism Ministry had sent a detailed feasibility study report to the Build Own Operate and Transfer (BOOT) Committee headed by the then NPC Vice-chairman Deependra Bahadur Kshetry.

Since then, the airport plan has languished on the back burner. The project had been assigned to the Investment Board Nepal (IBN) with instructions to fast-track it under a single window. As there was no signs of progress, the then Tourism Minister Bhim Acharya had even made an effort to bring the project back to the Tourism Ministry.

Since IBN had been repeatedly asking the ministry for the study report, the ministry had told the then Khil Raj Regmi-led administration if IBN wanted the report, it should be ready to pay Lan-dmark’s $3.55 million fee. But the Cabinet returned the proposal.

Recently, Tourism Minister Deepak Chandra Amatya told a meeting of the Parliamentary Development Committee the project was making no progress because of confusion over the implementing agency.

The committee then directed the government to expedite the project and submit monthly progress reports to it. The Parliamentary International Relations and Labour Committee also directed the ministry to move the project forward.

“Initial work on the SIA has started,” said Buddhi Sagar Lamichhane, joint-secretary at the Tourism Ministry. “As the required areas need to be cleared for the airport development, we are tabling a proposal at the Cabinet for its go-ahead to survey the airport land and fix boundaries next week,” he said.

Source: The Kathmandu Post