In a major decision pertaining to the proposed Nijgadh International Airport, the concerned committee in the Upper House called on for a fresh Detailed Project Report (DPR) to proceed with the project.<\/p>\n
The National Concern and Coordination Committee of the House made this recommendation after a detailed on-field study of the project.<\/p>\n
The Committee asked the Tourism<\/a> Ministry to come up with the new DPR within the ongoing fiscal year i.e. before July 2018, to proceed with the further process.<\/p>\n However, experts disagree with the Committee\u2019s proposal terming that as \u2018waste of time and money\u2019, considering the government\u2019s existing commitments and lessons from the past experiences.<\/p>\n According to them, the government already is still due to reimburse NPR 700 million to the Korea-based Landmark Worldwide Company (LMW) for its Detailed Feasibility Study (DFS) submitted in August 2011.<\/p>\n Experts opine that DFS is already a detailed document for the project\u2019s potential and helps in complete investment decision-making, approval and planning.<\/p>\n Whereas, DPR is the study that lays path for further implementation of the project in terms of costs and benefits, among other internal factors.<\/p>\n But the real challenge is a DPR prepared by one organization cannot be used by the other. That\u2019s where the experts say it\u2019s of no use in preparing a new DPR by the government.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, there will be need of the DPR but not one prepared by the government<\/a>. The firm who will get the project will prepare the DPR on its own as per international practice. Hence, the Nijgadh Airport\u2019s DPR is a waste of money,\u201d says a source from the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal<\/span> (CAAN).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n In its recommendations, the Committee also raised urged not to cut-down trees for project construction<\/a> and asked the ministry to plan compensatory plantation with strict enforcement in all places where they are chopped down.<\/p>\n So far, more than 2.4 million trees have been cut down to build the airport.<\/p>\n The Ministry was also directed to ensure that the land allocated for construction lies in the name of the project.<\/p>\n Overall, the committee urged the government not to delay the airport construction beyond the set deadlines.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In a major decision pertaining to the proposed Nijgadh International Airport, the concerned committee in the…<\/span><\/p>\n