Dhangadhi Airport Expansion Plan Stalled Due to Budget Shortage

Dhangadhi. The government's plan to make Dhangadhi Airport, the lifeline of the Sudurpaschim Province, a modern regional airport has been limited to paper for the last three financial years. Land acquisition and runway expansion, announced with fanfare, have completely stalled due to budget constraints and lack of government priority.

The process to develop Dhangadhi Airport as a regional airport was initiated in 2078 BS with the active involvement of the then Minister of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Prem Bahadur Ale. However, the plan has not gained concrete momentum even after three financial years. Although there were rumors of budget allocation initially, the project is now disappearing from discussions due to the lack of secured funding.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal had prepared a comprehensive master plan for Dhangadhi Airport in the financial year 2077/78. According to this master plan, an additional 258.25 bighas of land were deemed necessary to make the airport regional. The goal was to extend the current 1800-meter runway to 2500 meters, enabling larger aircraft to land easily.

The master plan included infrastructure such as a 2550-meter long runway with a 45-meter width, a modern terminal building, parking apron, hangar, helipad, cargo building, fuel station, and fire-fighting station. In late 2078 BS, a consultancy named 'Real Path Engineering' conducted land surveys, raising some hopes, but subsequent processes could not move forward.

On January 25, 2078 BS (Push 11, 2078 BS), the board meeting of the Civil Aviation Authority decided to allocate one billion rupees for the airport expansion. However, this budget proved to be only on paper. According to the airport's information officer, Dharamsingh Rana, an estimated 15 to 16 billion rupees are required for land acquisition alone.

"The authority itself is currently in debt. Due to the burden of loans taken for the construction of Pokhara and Gautam Buddha International Airports, the authority is not in a position to make a large investment in Dhangadhi from its own resources," he said.

According to him, land acquisition is not possible unless the government specifically addresses it in the budget and allocates billions of rupees for compensation. The government has not allocated any budget for this project in the last three financial years.

Currently, Dhangadhi Airport's runway is the longest among Nepal's domestic airports (1800 meters). Despite such a long runway, the lack of a proper terminal building and other technical infrastructure is keenly felt.

Currently, Shree Airlines operates 6 daily flights (12 including arrivals and departures) from this airport, and Buddha Air operates 2 daily flights (4 including arrivals and departures). Shree Airlines operates the most flights from here. A total of up to 16 flights, including inbound and outbound, operate daily.

With the discussion of airport expansion, the surrounding residents were hopeful of receiving fair compensation for their land. However, locals are in a dilemma due to the fear of their land being frozen without receiving compensation. The government has a liability of approximately 16 billion rupees for compensation distribution, but due to the lack of secured funding, the situation is that locals' land remains frozen, and development does not occur.

According to the airport office, all expansion work is currently on hold. According to information officer Rana, the only way forward is a concrete decision from the Council of Ministers and the Ministry of Tourism.

"If the government truly intends to make Dhangadhi a regional airport, it must arrange a large sum for compensation in the upcoming budget," he said.

Dhangadhi Airport is the backbone of tourism and economic development in Sudurpaschim. Stakeholders say that its expansion will bring significant improvements in trade, tourism, and foreign connectivity in the region.