POKHARA: Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Kumar Bhattarai has reiterated that the construction works of the Pokhara Regional International Airport (PRIA) would be completed within the stipulated time.
He said so in the course of on-site observation of the construction works on the airport today. PRIA is a national pride project. The Civil Aviation Minister said the construction of the airport is going on regularly despite the coronavirus crisis and that the government was committed to complete it and bring it into operation within the deadline.
He assured that the government would make the required facilitation not to let a shortage of means and resources including the human resources for the project due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Minister Bhattarai on the occasion expressed the confidence that the construction of the airport would be completed within 2021 as per the target and international flights started by that time.
He shared that preparations were being made to operate domestic and international flights which have remained suspended for nearly six months due to the global coronavirus pandemic.
Lawmaker Bidya Bhattarai expressed her commitment to extending assistance from her side for the completion of the construction works of the PRIA on time. She believed that the airport would be significant in the country’s prosperity goal.
Chief of PRIA Construction Project, Binesh Munakarmi said 64 per cent of the construction of the airport has been completed so far. According to him, most of the works related to the construction of physical infrastructures have been completed and only works concerning the installation of equipment, among others, remained.
Munakarmi said construction of 14 buildings including the terminal building and hanger, the runway, the parking
and the approach way has reached the final stage. He said 180 Chinese and 90 Nepalis were continuously working in the construction of the airport at present.
He added that additional 200 skilled human resources were preparing to come here from China for the installation of the equipment.
Project chief Munakarmi said although the target of completing the construction six months before the stipulated date has been missed due to the impact of the pandemic to some extent, the project would be completed within the specified date itself.
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