Nepal

Expansion of Nepalgunj Airport resumes

KathmanduPati October 12, 2020

BANKE : Expansion of the Nepalgunj Airport in the Banke district that had been halted for nearly six months due to COVID-19 has resumed recently.

Construction of the runway and terminal tower is underway, according to the Civil Aviation Office. The project has been divided into four phases as per the 20-year master plan to develop the domestic airport into an international airport.

The entire project is estimated to cost over Rs 12 billion with more than 3.5 billion to be spent in the first and second phase, said the Office Chief Prem Nath Thakur. The runway will be upgraded from 3C category to 4C category.

Additionally, over 100 bigha of lands have been required for the expansion of the airport as per the master plan. The airport spanning across 166 bigha of the lands will be the second busiest airport after the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu. Over 40 flights were being operated from and to the airport on a daily basis prior to the pandemic.