The construction of the Majhagaon airport remains a challenge.
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It has been four years since the reconstruction of the long-closed Majhagaon Airport here began. However, the work of blacktopping the airport's runway has not been completed yet.
There has been a problem with land acquisition since the construction work began. Even now, the construction work has been stopped due to the lack of possession rights of the land to the south of the airport and the failure to cut down the trees in the Ratna Vatika in the area.
There is a small drain to the west of the runway. The work on the runway has been stopped until the drain is drained. Currently, the drain flows in the middle of the runway. 'The work of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for tree felling is underway,' said Airport Planning Chief Minraj Ojha. 'Only after the trees are cut down and the middle drain is laid on the side, the runway can be completely blacktopped.'
According to him, 1,300 meters of the 1,525-meter runway has been blacktopped. The base work has been done in the remaining area. The blacktop work has been stopped. Similarly, the first phase of blacktop work has been completed for the taxiway.
‘After the EIA work is completed, the remaining blacktop work will be started by cutting down trees,’ Ojha said. ‘The contract process for the construction of the terminal building and tower will also be taken forward in the coming fiscal year.’ He said that flights can start after the terminal building and tower are constructed. Ojha says that the goal is to conduct test flights within the coming fiscal year.
On Sunday, Civil Aviation Authority Deputy Director General Premnath Thakur and House of Representatives member Gyanendra Mahata, among others, monitored the area. Thakur said that the work will move forward if all obstacles to the airport construction are removed.
‘This airport has a lot of potential, now its work should not be delayed under various pretexts,’ said Thakur, ‘Let’s fix a date and start flights on that date, everyone should work from their respective areas.’ He said that along with Indian tourists, tourists from third countries passing through India are also expected to use the airport here.
The airport, which started air services in 2030, was closed in 2056 during the armed conflict citing security reasons. After a long-standing movement for the construction of the airport, construction work has started in 2078 in partnership with the local level, provincial government and federal government.
A contract agreement of Rs 456.6 million was signed with Kanchharam/KS/Uma & Company in 2078 to complete the work in three years for the construction of the airport in the first phase. In which 10 percent of the investment will be from Dodhara Chandani Municipality, 15 percent from Bhimdatta Municipality, 25 percent from the Sudurpaschim Provincial Government and 50 percent from the federal government. So far, 80 percent physical progress has been made, while the financial progress is 72 percent.
An electricity line has also been installed in the middle of the airport. The Electricity Authority is reluctant to remove the line. Planning Chief Ojha said that necessary initiatives are also being taken to remove the line.
