Kathmandu, March 21
Nepal’s newly appointed minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation Rabindra Adhikari has vowed to make visible changes at the country’s only international airport, within the next two months.
Adhikari, in an interview with Onlinekhabar, said that many people came to him to congratulate him on his new job, and their number one complaint was related to the Tribhuvan International Airport.
“You just need to wait for two months from now. You will see visible changes at the airport, it will be cleaner and its operations more scientific,” said Adhikari.
The minister said that he wants to focus his initial days on upgrading the TIA. “The expansion of the airport should be done with a time frame of around four-five years,” said Adhikari adding that the Nijgadh International Airport needs to be ready by the time. He explained that he would also take the initiative to expedite work in the Bhairahawa airport.
“Some people have suggested that a second runway be built at the TIA, but that is not possible as they would require a separation of around one km,” he said in the interview. The UML leader told Onlinekhbar that the the ministry is looking the possibility of preparing a separate runway for flights to hilly areas. “We won’t shift the whole domestic terminal, but conduct some flights from a different location such as Dhulikhel,” he said.
