Janakpur airport to go international by 2012

SANGAM PRASAIN

KATHMANDU, FEB 05 -

The Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoTCA) has intensified efforts to acquire land to upgrade Janakpur airport into a regional international airport, a ministry official said.

The ministry plans to complete land acquisition and construction of a new terminal by 2011. The government has allocated Rs 30 million to acquire 16 bighas of land to extend the airport. It is expected to come online as a regional international airport by 2012.

Janakpur, capital of the ancient kingdom of Mithila and birthplace of Sita, heroine of the Ramayana, is an important pilgrimage site for Hindus. Tourism Minister Sharat Singh Bhandari said that the project to develop Janakpur airport into a regional international airport had been given priority considering the prospects of attracting large numbers of Hindu pilgrims.

Another reason behind developing Janakpur as a regional international airport is the recently signed air agreement between Nepal and India which allows cross-border flights from Janakpur. Development of Janakpur as an international airport could also ease congestion at Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) as migrant workers from the eastern Tarai could fly out from there. More than 3,000 passengers pass through TIA per hour, which was designed to handle 1,300 passengers.

The government has moved to develop Janakpur, Pokhara and Bhairahawa airports as TIA was being overstretched. “Domestic passenger movement is also increasing at a rapid pace, and developing regional international airports could boost private air operators,” said Bhandari.

Land acquisition for Bhairahawa airport has been completed. The ministry said that the government had allocated Rs 280 million for compensation to land owners. “Bhairahawa could be a hub for Buddhist pilgrims,” Bhandari said.