KATHMANDU, DECEMBER 21
Construction activities at the Pokhara International Airport (PIA) have been affected due to lack of technical human resources.
The physical construction works of the airport have come to an end and the project completion deadline is also near, however certain works have been affected as technicians from abroad have not been able to return to the construction site. The completion deadline of the project is July next year.
The technical aspect of the project is at a standstill.
According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), technical human resources were supposed to come to Nepal to instal the equipment. However, due to the threat of the COVID-19 infection, human resources have not arrived yet, said Project Chief Binesh Munakarmi.
Even though a total of 100 Chinese labourers are working at the construction site at the moment, CAAN is struggling to bring the required number of Chinese technicians. The government has already approved CAAN’s proposal to bring Chinese technicians. CAAN has also already sent a letter to the concerned authority in China requesting it to send their technicians for the technical works of the airport.
As per PIA Project Chief Munakarmi, a total of 158 Chinese technicians are in the process of coming to Nepal. The project expects all the technicians to reach Nepal by February.
So far, the project has achieved 68 per cent physical progress. Among the remaining 32 per cent of work, 14 per cent consists of civil works while 18 per cent is related to technical aspects. Earlier, with the increasing threat of COV- ID-19 infection, the Chinese workers had been refusing to come to Nepal. However, as people are being inoculated with vaccines in China, there are reports that the workers are preparing to come to Nepal, as per CAAN.
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