KATHMANDU, Sept 8: The Development Committee of parliament has directed the government to prepare a clear roadmap to implement Kathmandu Tarai Madesh Fast Track and Second International Airport projects.
The committee has asked the government to include development modality, and forest clearance and resettlement plans, among others, within a month.
The parliamentary panel's direction has come a time when work progress of both the interrelated projects, which are also billed national pride projects, has remained near to nil. Though the projects have been getting priority in the past few periodic plans, time-bound plan of the two projects has yet to be prepared.
The committee has directed concerned ministries and agencies as well as the National Planning Commission and Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) also to issue a white paper, outlining the current status of project implementation within a month.
The Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport is developing the fast track project by mobilizing government resources, while Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation is undertaking the Second International Airport project .
The committee has discussed the issue with officials of agencies implementing the projects and issued a number of decisions. The airport will be an alternative to the country's only international airport, Tribhuvan International Airport, which, many say, is approaching saturation point.
The house panel has also suggested that the government put in place a special mechanism or an entity having needful technical manpower for the development of fast track project. It has also directed the government to immediately start both the projects by allocating resources.
NA to prepare new DPR of fast track on its own
