Oli lays foundation stone of Pokhara international airport

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli today laid the foundation stone of Pokhara Regional International Airport at Chhinedanda of Pokhara Sub-Metropolitan City.The airport project has been on hold since July 2012 after the lowest bidder -- China CAMC -- bid $305 million, which was 85 percent higher than the cost estimated by Nepal. The government had anticipated the project would cost around $166 million. The construction area of Pokhara Airport is about 200 hectares and the runway will be around 2,500 meters long and 45 meters wide, which according to CAMCE will be appropriate for landings and taking-offs for aircraft at the airport. CAMCE says that the airport will be one of the most modern airports in Nepal. The PRIA project is one of the largest economic and technical cooperation projects between Nepal and China and it is expected to complete within four years. With the annual interest rate of 8 percent, the government will take concessional loans from Exim Bank of China. The government acquired 3,106 ropanis of land at Chinedanda for PRIA 38 years ago and this year it plans to add 500 ropanis to the project as the new study suggests that it requires additional land. To acquire the additional land, the government has put aside Rs 1 billion for this Fiscal Year. CAMCE will construct the runway, taxi-way, apron, international and domestic terminal buildings, air-traffic control tower, cargo terminal building and airport hangar.