The Finance Minister, Bishnu Poudel while unveiling the budget plan for the fiscal year 2021/2022 has given assurance to provide a grant of Rs 8.50 million to the Pokhara Regional International Airport which is currently under construction and plans to operate it in the coming  fiscal year.

Pokhara.

       Image courtesy:Routine of Nepal Banda.

The much anticipated project with an estimated expenditure of Rs 22 billion in Pokhara,  was expected to be ready by July 10, 2021 ,but owing to the pandemic and Prohibition orders,  remaining construction work is disrupted and equipment installations is also delayed. 

Binesh Munakarmi, the project chief also pointed out that, 'Around 77 per cent of the work is  progressed but because of internation flights restrictions,many needed equipments are yet to be imported and majorly we lack the required skill technicians and forces as earlier 700 workman including the Chinese were employed but currently we have 435 working with only 185 of them.'

As a part of the Belt and Road Initiative, the assigned Chinese company CAMC Engineering signed the contract in the year 2014, while the construction began in later years, the area covered by the airport is around 3,900 ropanis and lies at Chinnedanda-3, which is about 3 km east of the domestic airport in Pokhara.

The international airport while offering the best  flight transportation services to the growing international ,domestic air passengers and so can boost the socioeconomy of the tourism sector .On top of that the airport reportedly can handle one million passengers per year. 

Meanwhile, The government also plans to upgrade the infrastructures in the domestic airports and has decided to provide a sum of Rs 1.33 billion for the expansion of the airports whereas other international airports will be supported with total of Rs 20.31 billion.  

Note:The feature image is credited to trekking trail.com