Nepal has asked India for help to conduct flight inspection of the newly installed navigation and communication infrastructure at Bhairahawa international airport as the original contractor has been staying away amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Rajan Pokhrel, director general of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, told the Post that they had formally written to the Airport Authority of India for flight calibration or flight test through a government-to-government deal after receiving the nod during informal discussions.
Gautam Buddha International Airport in Bhairahawa in south central Nepal is at the final stages of completion, and is slated to be ready for commercial operation by the beginning of 2022.
“A formal request letter in this regard has been dispatched to the Tourism Ministry, which will be forwarded through the Foreign Ministry to the Indian government,” an official at the civil aviation regulator said.
On March 7, 2019, a Thai government-owned company Aeronautical Radio of Thailand won the $4.83 million contract for the second package with a completion deadline of 2019-end.