5 Falgun, Chitwan. The survey work is going to start from Monday to advance the process of expansion of Bharatpur Airport in Chitwan.
The Metropolitan Corporation said that the survey will be completed within a week. The meeting chaired by Renu Dahal, head of Bharatpur Metropolitan Municipality on Friday, agreed to increase the process of expansion of the airport immediately.
It has been agreed to form a facilitation committee consisting of representatives of the Nepal Civil Aviation Authority, the Nepali Army and the Metropolitan Municipality to facilitate the overall expansion of the airport.
Santosh Archay, senior engineer of Bharatpur Metropolitan Municipality, informed that in addition to surveying and designing for the expansion, OLS - Obstructive Limitation Survey will be conducted in accordance with the design.
After the report is received, ensuring the budget according to the design will facilitate the expansion work to progress further.
A meeting held with the presence of the Director General of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, Pradeep Adhikari, has indicated that the work of expanding the airport and transferring the power station of horse breeding center will proceed simultaneously.
During the meeting of the Council of Ministers held on Magh 18, a decision was made to relocate the horse breeding center of the Nepali army to a powerhouse to facilitate the expansion of the airport runway.
As there is no private land available on the eastern side of the airport, expansion is not feasible. The authority has also halted the construction of buildings and additional floors in that area.It is necessary to extend the road leading to western Chitwan for the expansion of the airport, as it will accommodate the extended airport area.
The expenses incurred for infrastructure will be covered by the Civil Aviation Authority. Structures such as the Nepali army's horse breeding center will also be accommodated along with the airport.
Nineteen bighas of land are required for the expansion of the airport in the current 58 bighas area. Plans are underway to extend the runway by 412 meters in the north-west direction of the airport, where a runway already exists.
Due to human structures on the eastern side, airplanes cannot utilize a runway longer than 1,200 meters. After expansion, the runway of the airport will be at least 1,500 meters long.
With the expansion of the airport, expectations include accommodating larger capacity aircraft, reducing high rents, and facilitating night flights. Fuel pumps for aircraft will also be constructed here after the expansion.
Besides the current budget of over 1 billion 27 crore 90 lakh 98 thousand 977 Nepalese Rupees for the airport, a new terminal building is also under construction.
Mayor Renu Dahal of Bharatpur has emphasized the necessity of airport expansion due to the presence of Gautam Buddha International Cricket Stadium, an international convention center, the country's third tourist destination, being an economic capital, and a medical city.