Airport construction study started in Dharan

SUNSARI, Dec 09:A three-member team formed by the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has started conducting field studies to build an airport in Dharan.

On Thursday morning, the team arrived in Dharan-17 Dandaghopa with Harkaraj Rai, the head of Dharan sub-metropolitan city, and studied the geographical location of the airport's proposed location.

On November 9, a team was formed under the direction of Sudan Kiranti, Minister of Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation, with the coordination of CAAN Manager Nalvikram Thapa, senior legal officer Bimal Khanal, and chartered accountant Anil Basnet. After holding discussions in the sub-metropolitan city, the team that arrived in Dharan on Wednesday began the on-site study on Thursday.

According to Thapa, the study team's coordinator, the study was carried out based on previous study reports. The CAAN had previously studied the possibility of building an airport at the same location.

The CAAN stated in a letter to the Dharan sub-metropolitan city on June 15, 2017, that approximately 93.25 bigha of land is required to build an airport for ships up to the ATIR42 series with a capacity of 47 seats.

According to Thapa, the study team coordinator, because 72-seat capacity ships are currently in use in Nepal, more land will be required to build an airport for these ships.

Yeti Incorporated Pvt Ltd, a private company, purchased about seven bighas of land in Dandaghopa in 2003 AD to build an airport.

Because there is no clear law that allows private companies to build airports, the airport has not been built. Locals who sold land for the airport at a low price at the time are demanding that their land be returned if the airport is not built.

Even before the team arrived at the site, the locals demanded that if the airport is to be built, it begin immediately and that if it is not built, the land be returned.

Addressing the residents, Deputy Metropolitan Municipality Chief Rai stated that the land owned by Yeti Incorporated will be transferred to the sub-metropolitan city and that the airport will be built soon.

"We will build the airport, even if it is by donating labor, according to the report that comes after the technical team's measurements," he went on to say.