Nepal will sign a deal with India for technical assistance for testing of surveillance and radar systems installed at its airports. The deal, proposed for the five-year period, will be a government-to-government deal. The Airport Authority of India (AAI), a state-owned company, will provide its expertise in carrying out required tests. These tests, which have to be carried out annually, were delayed at several airports in Nepal since the outbreak of the pandemic.   

Nepal had reached out to India for technical inspections of one of its newly built airports after a Thai company, which was originally contracted for the work, delayed it for months citing the Covid-19 situation. 

The deal with India will allow timely testing during the ongoing times of uncertainties because of the pandemic, said Buddhi Sagar Lamichhane, joint secretary at Nepal’s Civil Aviation Ministry. 

The newly built international Airport in Bhairahawa is fitted with the instrument landing system (ILS) and it needs to be tested every six months. “The deal will save us the hassle of conducting tenders at a time of crisis,” Lamichhane was quoted as saying by The Kathmandu Post.

The 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.

(SAM)