92 percent construction of Gautam Buddha Int’l Airport completed

September 11, 2020, 03:29:50 PM |

KATHMANDU: The construction of physical infrastructure of Gautam Buddha International Airport has reached the final phase.

Only a few technical works including installation of lights and equipment remain to be completed in the project which is being constructed as one of the national pride projects of the country in Bhairahawa (Rupandehi).

The airport has already achieved 92 percent physical progress and 63 percent financial progress. As per concerned authorities, if the project had not been affected by the COVID-19 then it would have been operational at the moment. The pandemic has delayed the technical work of the project.

Other works related to the physical infrastructure of the project were given continuity despite the lockdown. However, the technical work of the airport is yet to be completed.

The chief administration officer of the project said that completing the technical work had become very challenging. According to him, although most of the equipment had already arrived, managing the human resources from abroad to complete the work had been challenging as there were no regular international flights in operation for the past few months.

Installation works of equipment inside the airport’s terminal building are yet to be completed.Meanwhile, other works like construction of baggage handling system, night security check machine, seals and installation of other equipment are in the completion phase.

Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation,Yogesh Bhattarai, has been regularly visiting the construction site and directing the project officials to complete the construction as early as possible. He has also tried to ease management of other necessary works.

Earlier, while releasing the annual progress document of the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Minister Bhattarai had informed that the construction work of the airport had been intensified and necessary initiatives were being taken to complete the remaining technical work as soon as possible.

The project is being carried out by a Chinese construction company called Northwest Civil Aviation Construction Group. According to the ministry, the cost of building the project which is being constructed through subsidized loan from Asian Development Bank is expected to reach up to Rs 7.32 billion.

Fiscal Nepal |

Friday September 11, 2020, 03:29:50 PM |