Pokhara International Airport Causes Construction Halt on Water Tank Project

Pokhara. Under the Pokhara Water Supply Improvement Project, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) operated a water purification project in Pokhara at a cost of approximately 5 billion rupees. The construction of this project, which began after an agreement between the Government of Nepal and JICA on February 4, 2074 BS, was completed and handed over two years ago. Under this project, there was a plan to construct an overhead tank in Kolpatan, Pokhara-15. The tank, which was supposed to be 31.8 meters high, has been built up to 20 meters. The construction of the tank, which reached its final stage after spending 140 million rupees, was stopped after the Pokhara International Airport became operational. The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (Caan) ordered the work to be stopped, citing serious impact on flight safety. This tank is about 800 meters away from the airport runway. Caan has pressured to reduce the height of the already constructed tank. According to the airport chief Jagannath Niroula, the height of the tank needs to be reduced by 4.43 meters. 'After the formation of a new government, a technical committee was formed. The committee conducted a long study and submitted an objective report to the government,' he said, 'The report clearly states that the height of the tank should not exceed 15.57 meters.'

The Nepal Water Supply Corporation, however, argues that reducing the height of the tank will lead to technical failure and affect the water supply system for more than 34,000 citizens.