RBC News Desk : In April last year, Chinese Foreign Minister Wan Yi announced the finalization of the construction of this airport. On January 1 this year, the new Prime Minister of Nepal, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, inaugurated this airport. 14 days later, a terrible plane crash took place at the airport.

On Sunday morning, January 15, an Aeti-Airlines plane crashed on its way from Kathmandu to Pokhara, Nepal. It is known that there were 68 passengers including five Indians and four airmen in that plane. According to Nepali media sources, 70 of the 72 people on the plane were died and the remaining two are missing.

Meanwhile, various questions have been raised in the media about the construction of the airport. Some reports claim that the airport, built with Chinese loans and technology, was not completed and was opened in haste. That is why the terrible accident happened only after 14 days.

According to a source of Nepal Aviation Authority, the plane was an ATR 72 Turbo crop version plane. Its speed was 500 km per hour. Yeti Airlines used the oldest aircraft.

According to Air Traffic Control (ATC) personnel, Pokhara’s runway is oriented east-west. Initially the pilot requested an earlier landing and was granted permission. But later the pilot asked for permission to land on the west side and permission was granted again. But 10 seconds before landing it suddenly caught fire and crashed.

In 2019, the American media CNN published a detailed report on the causes of the plane crashes. The report said,

★ Nepal’s adverse geographical features are largely responsible for air accidents, which pose a major challenge to aviators.

The some report to sayed,

★The runway of Pokhara international airport is 45 metres wide and 2,500 metres long, and has an east-west orientation. A 1,200-metre-long and 23- metre-wide taxiway connects the runway with the parking bays, hangars and terminals.

Some officials have expressed doubts over whether the new airport will be able to get enough airlines.

They say that it may fare worse than Gautam Buddha International Airport in Bhairahawa, which has been able to attract only one foreign airline-Jazeera Airways-since it opened in May. But Jazeera Airways drop its plan to operate.

★Even the audit report of the Office of the Auditor General pointed out that due to lack of “technical preparation for the commercial operation of the new airport, it looks like Pokhara international airport will not come into operation immediately, even after the construction is completed”.

★Government officials and the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal are still clueless about how to attract foreign airlines to the new airport. Travel trade entrepreneurs said little had been learned from the experience of the Gautam Buddha International Airport.

“The fanfare has ended at both airports now. The government needs to be serious about how to operate them, or the failure of these mega projects could deal a severe blow to the economy,” said Ashok Pokharel, president of the Nepal Association of Tour Operators.

★”The government should take India into confidence and ask for air routes that have been pending for a long time. We need tourists, trade and strong air connectivity, particularly with India, if our tourism is to flourish,” said Pokharel.

★ Small aircraft caused the accident in Nepal. And besides, eight of the 14 highest mountains in the world are located in Nepal. Among them is the highest peak of the world and Mount Everest. Landing a plane in mountainous Nepal is relatively difficult. Air travel becomes more difficult in bad weather. The runway is located on the side of hills and cliffs.

Incidentally, Chinese Foreign Minister Yan Yea handed over Pokhara International Airport to the then Prime Minister of Nepal Sher Bahadur Deoba last year. Meanwhile, controversy raged before the inauguration of this airport. Prior to the inauguration of this airport, it was announced by the Chinese Embassy in Kathmandu, Nepal that Pokhara International Airport is the flagship project of BRI cooperation in Nepal.

★According to information, the work of Pokhara International Airport started in April 2016. The construction work was supposed to be completed in five years. The total cost of construction of this airport was 305 million dollars. Which is 2479 crores in Indian currency. Out of this, 215 million dollars loan was taken from Export-Import Bank of China. The Indian price of which is now 1775 crores.

The Embassy said, “China-Nepal BRI

It is a flagship project of the cooperation. Warm welcome to Nepalese government and Nepali citizens However, according to local Nepali media reports, the Prime Minister Dahal expressed concern over the Chinese embassy’s comments. However, he did not mention anything about this in his inaugural speech.

(This Report is published in English due to its international importance./আন্তর্জাতিক গুরুত্ব বিবেচনায় এই প্রতিবেদনটি ইংরেজিতে প্রকাশ করা হল)

RBC News/23 January/ Rozy