By Our Correspondent
Biratnagar, Oct. 6: A tripartite agreement was signed on Monday to upgrade the Biratnagar Airport to international standard. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), the state government and the Biratnagar Metropolitan City at a function organised by the CAAN in Biratnagar.
The MoU was signed in the presence of Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Kumar Bhattarai, Chief Minister of State 1 Sherdhan Rai and all the ministers and Mayor of Biratnagar Metropolitan City Bhim Parajuli and Deputy Mayor Indira Karki.
Director General of CAAN Rajan Prasad Pokhrel, Secretary at the Ministry of Industry, Tourism, Forest and Environment Meghraj Kafle of State government and Chief Administrative Officer of Biratnagar Metropolitan City Indra Mani Pokharel signed the MoU on behalf of their respective authorities.
The state government and Biratnagar Metropolitan City have also agreed to share the cost with CAAN for upgrading the airport. The three sides have reached an agreement to share the cost of extending the existing 1,500-metre runway of the airport to 3,000 metres, constructing well-equipped terminal house and acquiring the land required for it.
The MoU states that 40 per cent of the total expenditure will be borne by the state government and 10 per cent by the Biratnagar Metropolitan City. The remaining 50 per cent will be invested by CAAN.
Speaking at the MoU signing ceremony, Minister Bhattarai said that the campaign to upgrade Biratnagar Airport to international level had moved a step forward.
The current government has given priority to the development of physical infrastructure, he said, adding that the government was not paying attention to building new airports and was focusing on upgrading the old ones.
He urged the industrialists and tourism entrepreneurs to focus on making the airport more commercial as it would be very expensive to operate. Minister Bhattarai said that the government would develop air transport in places where there was no alternative means of transportation.
Chief Minister of State 1 Sherdhan Rai expressed happiness over the agreement signed by the state government to expand the runway of the airport to 3,000 metres with long-term thinking.
It is the first time after the implementation of the federal system in the country that an agreement has been signed between the federal, state and local levels in such a big and model project, Rai said.
Mayor of Biratnagar Metropolitan City Bhim Parajuli said that the agreement was a milestone towards the realization of the dream of inhabitants of Biratnagar and former Minister Rabindra Adhikari to develop the airport as an international airport.
Minister for Industry, Forest and Environment of State 1 Jagadish Prasad Kushiyet said that expansion of the airport would be an important step for the development of tourism in State 1.