Kathmandu, August 21
The government plans to carry out complete repairs of the runway at Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), the country’s lone international airport.
The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation says the airport will remain closed for 10 hours every day.
According to Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Rabindra Adhikari, upgrading of the runway within a year is a top priority for the government.
Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN)’s director general Sanjeeb Gautam says repair works will begin on mid-February and the airport will remain closed during repair hours (from 10:00 pm to 8:00 am). It is expected to take four months to pave the runway with fresh asphalt. In the second phase, the restoration of a taxiway will be carried out.
The runway developed cracks in 2014 and the 2015 April earthquake made the situation worse. The runway areas, especially from the 02 point up until 1,600 meters from the point, have been largely damaged.
According to TIA, repair and maintenance works would be started from southern part of the airport as it has become weak.
