Kanchanpur's Majhgaon Airport upgrade work stalled
Dhangadhi: The construction work of Majhgaon Airport in Kanchanpur has come to a standstill. For the expansion of the airport which has been closed for 20 years and turned into Gaucharan, a contract has been signed with Kancharam-Kumar-Uma and Company for Rs. 45,666,715. Although the construction company started the work to complete the work in three years, now the work has stopped there due to the rains.
Soil filling and upgrading work at the airport has been stopped. The authority has a plan to extend the 1,000-meter-long runway to 1,525 meters in the first phase. For the airport to be spread over an area of 66 bighas, the land will be needed in the area of Shuklaphanta National Park and the Nepali Army playground. But the airport office has not got the right of occupancy of that area.
The construction company has cleaned the loose soil, bushes and butane from the upper level. Gravel and necessary building materials for the sub-base have also been piled on the runway. But Meenraj Ojha, engineer and project head of Nepal Civil Aviation Authority, said that there was no work at the airport after the rains.
The runway of the airport, which is 1,000 meters long, will be made at 1,525 meters in the first phase. The Nepal Civil Aviation Authority has said that the length of the runway will be increased by 300 meters in the second phase.
For the airport spread over an area of 66 bighas, the land will be needed in the area of Shuklaphanta National Park and the Nepali Army playground. If the land belongs to the National Park, the land in the name of the Nepali Army has not been acquired by the airport office. Ojha, engineer and project head of Nepal Civil Aviation Authority, said that the federal cabinet has not decided on the right of occupancy of the land.
For the construction of Mazhagaon Airport, 50 per cent of the Federal Ministry of Tourism, 25 per cent of the Sudurpaschim Province Government, 15 per cent of Bhimdatta Municipality and 10 per cent of Dodharachandani Municipality collected Rs. 45,666,715. Mazgaon Airport, which was operational in 2030, was closed during the conflict citing security reasons.