Simkot Airport apron develops pothole before handover

By Rajan Rawat,Humla, Feb. 13: The newly constructed apron at Simkot Airport, where aircraft are parked, has developed a pothole even before its official handover.

The pothole appeared as the compacted soil beneath the asphalt layer caved in due to inadequate rolling during construction.

Mahendra Bahadur Singh, Manager of the Civil Aviation Authority Simkot Branch, stated that the apron, built for aircraft parking, developed a pothole because the soil was not properly compacted with a roller during the filling process.

The apron was constructed 30 metres above the airport level. He explained that proper rolling was necessary to compress the soil, but due to insufficient compaction, the filled soil settled, causing the apron to sink. As the apron was built at a higher elevation, airport staff now face difficulty seeing the final section from where the aircraft take off. A section on the southern edge of the apron, measuring three metres in length and two feet in depth, has collapsed.

Bidyananda Kishor, Chief of the Simkot Airport Infrastructure Construction Project, said the sinking occurred due to water seepage into the asphalt during the monsoon season.

The project acknowledged that the damage was due to the contractor’s negligence and substandard asphalting.

He explained that water infiltration during the rainy season had ground down the soil, causing the apron to sink. Consequently, the contractor has been instructed to reconstruct the damaged section. However, the entire southern part of the newly built apron will need to be reconstructed.