Tree counting in the proposed site of Nijgadh International Airport to be completed by mid-December

Published On: September 8, 2020 06:17 PM NPT By: Republica | @RepublicaNepal

KATHMANDU, Sept 8: The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoCTCA) has directed the government agencies concerned to complete the tree counting process in the proposed site of Nijgadh International Airport by mid-December this year.

A High-Level meeting held at the MoCTCA in Singha Durbar on Tuesday decided to complete the tree counting process along with their numbering within next three months by deploying additional manpower at work. The Divisional Forest office in Bara has been entrusted with the responsibility to carry out the task. A total of 57,350 trees and poles have been already counted in the 1,900 hectares of land of the proposed site of the airport.

The committee formed under the coordination of Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation as decided last year has been asked to inspect the project site and decide on the modalities for the management of local human settlements and submit a report within next 15 days. The head of the Divisional Forest Office in Bara will be inducted as a member of the committee to facilitate the task.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) will then make a plan to carry out tree felling in coordination with Nepal Forest Corporation Limited to complete the construction of roads around the four forts of the airport construction area, construction of access roads and felling of trees in the forest area.

The meeting chaired by Minister Bhattarai also decided that the Ministry of Forests and Environment will complete the verification process and submit a proposal to the Council of Ministers within a month for cutting down 4,232 trees that have been already counted for the construction of the periphery road in the project site.

The ministry has also directed the CAAN to complete remaining work of the purchase agreement process for developing the Master Plan of the airport within next one week. It has also asked Investment Board Nepal (IBN) to establish communication with Zurich International Company that has been selected for the construction of the airport and take a final decision regarding the request for the proposal by September 30.