Solve issue of high rise in proximity of TIA: Parliament committee

KATHMANDU, Aug 11:

Deeming that an eight-storey building near to the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) was a threat to aviation safety, the Development Committee of the parliament Monday directed the Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC), the Kathmandu Valley Town Development Committee (KVTDC) and the Kathmandu Valley Development Authority (KVDA) to solve the issue of the building within three months and to also submit the related work detail to the committee.

Rabindra Adhikari, the chairman of the committee, said that based on a discussion held Monday, the building in Koteshwar was seen as a threat to aviation safety and the decision to give direction to the three concerned authorities had been made.

"We also requested the concerned authorities to study other high rises, if any, in the airport area that may be causing problems or could be a problem," Adhikari said.

Answering questions at the committee meeting on Monday, Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Kripasur Sherpa said that KMC and KVTDC needed to seriously look into the issue. He also requested the committee to follow up on the issue with due diligence.

The eight-storey house, belonging to a Santa Lal Shahi, has been a headache for international airlines which have been carrying less weight in an attempt to minimize the risk posed by the tall structure in proximity of the runway right in the flight path. The house is 300 meters from where aircraft take off, according to the authorities. By carrying less weight, larger aircraft can take off earlier and gain enough height by the time they fly above the house in question.

To cut weight, the wide-body and narrow-body aircraft -- which means almost all international flights -- either carry fewer passengers or cut cargo. By not flying full capacity, airlines are incurring huge losses, they say.

Lawmakers in the committee said the issue was of serious concern and the government must study the matter and take action accordingly without delay.

Sanjeev Gautam, the director general of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), says KMC has already been provided with the detail of Obstacle Limitation Surfaces (OLS) as per International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards.

OLS provides the volume of airspace around and above an airport available to an aircraft for normal flights.

"We have also formed an internal committee to study the building and if we find that it affects the criteria of OLS, we will write to KMC to demolish it," Gautam told lawmakers on Monday, adding that the eight-storey building once also had an additional structure which was removed after CAAN sent instructions to the owner.

CAAN's internal committee will come with a conclusion in two days.

According to airlines, aircraft of up to 300-seat capacity are compelled to carry six tons less while aircraft of 150 to 170-seat capacity need to carry two tons less due to fear of a possible disaster owing to Shahi's house. The big aircraft have been carrying 54 fewer passengers while smaller ones have been carrying 18 passengers less than capacity.

OPMCM instructs KMC to investigate

The Office of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers (OPMCM) has written to KMC instructing it to study an eight-storey high rise near the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) that aviation authorities and airlines say is a threat to aviation safety.

"We have written to KMC to investigate the issue and to take action if it is against the building codes," Shanta Raj Subedi, secretary at OPMCM, said.

Nepal Airlines Corporation has also written to the Minister of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, requesting it to solve the problem of high rises in the area near the airport as soon as possible.

Rudra Singh Tamang, executive officer of KMC, said that based on the letter received from OPMCM, the city will soon be forming a team to investigate the issue.

Source: Republica