Speaking at a meeting of Development Committee of the legislature-parliament on Sunday, former finance secretary Rameswhar Khanal said the government has sufficient fund to develop both the projects on its own. “The government should give high priority to these projects as they will make significant contribution to country’s socioeconomic development,” he added.
Khanal also said the government should develop both the projects together. “The two projects can be separated only if SIA is developed as a parallel airport to Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) and not the alternative,” he said, adding that a political decision is needed on the issue.
Surya Acharya, infrastructure expert, said both the projects can be developed easily if the government prioritizes it wholeheartedly. “The government should be clear on the financing modality and take initiative to develop the projects on its own,” said Acharya.
Govt told to prepare roadmap for development of fast track, SIA
Similarly, Ratish Chandra Lal Suman, director general of Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) said works on SIA must begin soon as TIA is about to reach its saturation point. “It will be difficult to connect SIA to the capital city without fast track road,” he said adding that construction of SIA and the fast-track road will make significant contribution to tourism industry. “Relocation of settlements and clearance of forest, which covers 90 percent of the total area allocated for the airport, will be a challenging task.”
Experts say it would be difficult to expedite the fast track project without preparing Detailed Project Report (DPR). Asian Development Bank (ADB) had carried out feasibility study of the project in 2008.
As project cost and other modalities of financing are yet to be finalized, experts have suggested to the government to form a high-level committee that can take decision on the projects.
Nepal Army has already opened track for the 76-km expressway. However, Chandra Bahadur Shrestha, transportation expert, said that the track opened by the Nepal Army is not as per the study carried out by ADB. “It will take more than an hour to reach Kathmandu from Nijgadh on the track opened by the army. If one cannot reach Kathmandu within an hour from Nijgadh, the expressway wont’ be viable,” he added.
Rabindra Adhikari, chairman of the committee, said it is high time the government accorded top priority to the two mega projects.
