The process of expansion of Biratnagar Airport has been halted due to a lack of budget.
Biratnagar Airport will not be expanded, the government has released the reserved land after four years. When KP Sharma Oli was the prime minister, The land was withheld for expanding the airport. The residents were protesting after the government did not arrange enough budget for the distribution of compensation.
The Spokesperson of CAA Mr. Jagannath Niraula said that the process of Biratnagar airport expansion has been halted for the time being as the Civil Aviation Authority has no money.
A notice was also issued for the acquisition of 126 bigha land. Considering the market value of the land, it was seen that the compensation distribution alone will cost about 17 billion rupees. Therefore, the suggestion was sent to the Cabinet to return the withheld land,” Spokesperson Niraula told Biratnagarairport.com. This process of land acquisition has been stopped for now.’
He informed that for the time being, the authority is planning to extend the existing 1,500-meter runway by another 150 meters on the existing land. Four years ago, the authority had put forward a plan to make Biratnagar airport an international airport. At that time, the government had launched a plan to upgrade the major centers of the country, including Biratnagar, Pokhara, Bhairahawa, Dhangadhi, and Nepalgunj Airport.
At that time, a budget of 1.35 billion was allocated to upgrade Biratnagar Airport as an international airport.
The authority had planned to extend the runway to at least 2,500 meters under this plan.