KATHMANDU, Dec 28: A heliport has been built at Nalin Chowk in Bhaktapur. In the fiscal year 2022/23, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) started work for this heliport by allocating a budget of Rs 250 million.
Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) Spokesman Subhash Jha said that the groundwork of the heliport has been completed and the test flight has also been carried out. He said that after the report of the test flight comes out, the way for commercial flights will be paved. He also said that the structure including the terminal building and towers are under construction here.
The CAAN had allocated Rs 150 million for the heliport and Rs 100 million for the construction of structures including the terminal building. The contract to build this heliport was awarded in Nepali month Shrawan last year.
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According to Spokesperson Jha, this heliport has the capacity to accommodate up to 26 helicopters at a time. There are about three dozen helicopters in Nepal at present. All of these helicopters are parked at the TIA, but that’s not the way things would always work . During the tourist season, the helicopters that focus on Lukla also fly more to Simikot and Pokhara.
In Nepal, helicopters are being used to transport materials for tourist facilities, VIP flights, emergency health problems, natural disasters and development.
CAAN has built the heliport in an area of 33 ropanis at Nalin Chowk in Suryabinayak Municipality of Bhaktapur. CAAN also mentioned that there will be fuel tanks, fire fighting facilities, helicopter company offices, facilities with hangars for maintenance. CAAN already had land in this area. A heliport has been built on the same land.
CAAN had started building a heliport at Nalin Chowk in Bhaktapur with the aim of reducing the busyness of flights and communication equipment at the TIA. After the heliport is operational, passengers will have to reach Nalin Chowk to board a helicopter.
Spokesperson Jha said that this will help to decrease the pressure at the TIA to some extent. However, the traffic management here will be done from the TIA tower. Although a separate staff has been appointed for the heliport, it is prepared to operate the heliport through a single communication network. It means that this may not reduce the pressure on the communication system of the airport.
