Kathmandu, August 27
Owing to criticisms from stakeholders and lawmakers of the ruling Nepal Communist Party, the government has finally withdrawn its plan to construct a domestic airport in Kavrepalanchok district, some 30 km east of Kathmandu.
Instead, Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Bhattarai has introduced a new plan to upgrade the Ramechhap airport.
Though the government had announced that an alternative domestic airport would be constructed near Kathmandu Valley in the budget plans of this year and the previous year, stakeholders including the lawmakers had said the airport at a location so close to Kathmandu would not be necessary. They had argued that Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Gokul Baskota, put pressure on the government to construct the airport in his constituency, just to impress his voters.
But, with minister Bhattarai including a plan to upgrade the Ramechhap airport in his plan of action, the plan to construct an airport in Kavre has been dropped for now, according to ministry officials.
