Biratnagar Airport’s new terminal building’s foundation laid

BIRATNAGAR: The foundation stone of the new terminal building has been laid at Biratnagar Airport.

Sudan Kirati, Minister of Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation, laid the foundation stone for the new terminal building on Monday.

The foundation stone for a new terminal building to upgrade Biratnagar Airport to regional status has been laid.

The new terminal building at Biratnagar Airport, according to the Civil Aviation Authority, will be larger than those at Pokhara and Bhairahawa Airports outside of Kathmandu.

The terminal building, estimated to cost 2 billion 42 crores, is expected to be completed in three years.

At the moment, an ATR 72 aircraft is landing on the airport’s 1500-meter-long runway.

The current terminal building is narrow.

The authority said that the new terminal building of the airport is going to be constructed for the smooth travel of the passengers and considering the number of passengers that may increase in the future.

According to the authority, a master plan is in the works to build a 2,500-meter long runway at Biratnagar Airport in collaboration with the state government and the Biratnagar Metropolitan City to allow the operation of A320 or similar aircraft.

The master plan was followed during the land acquisition process.

However, due to a lack of resources as a result of COVID-19, etc., the land acquisition work has been halted for the time being.

Biratnagar authority head Renji Sherpa informed that the authority has advanced the construction of a state-of-the-art terminal building with facilities to meet future pressure on the existing land.

“Construction work on the existing land has progressed to increase the length of the runway by 270 meters,” he said.

The terminus building has been designed to serve 1,800 passengers even during ‘peak hour traffic’ under this project. He stated that the terminal building is being built on an area of 16,277 square meters.

Terminal building, parking lot, access road, access road, land scanning, and other amenities will be built as part of the current construction.

A purchase agreement for 2.42 billion rupees has been signed with KC Danphe JV for the construction of this physical infrastructure.

This terminal building will be developed as the largest inland terminal building in Nepal so far.

Although this terminal building is primarily designed for domestic air passengers, it is said that it has also been designed keeping in mind the possibility of landing cross-border flights.

It can also provide facilities to domestic and international air passengers from the same terminal building.

Sudan Kirati, Minister of Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation, stated after the building’s foundation was laid that the construction of Nepal’s largest terminal building would be completed on time.

He requested that, in accordance with the contract with the construction company, he complete the construction within the next three years and receive the award.

Nagesh Koirala, Mayor of Biratnagar Metropolitan Municipality, stated that the federal government should recognize the significance of Biratnagar, which has potential.

Koirala requested that the federal government create an environment conducive to mountain flights from Biratnagar, the state capital, because mountain climbing is easier from there than from Kathmandu.

‘Let’s build an international level airport, he said, other districts cannot develop until Biratnagar is built.’

-Suman Suskera