Not only was the EIA shoddily done, but they say that the business model for the airport is not viable. Nijgad will still be at least 1 hour away from Kathmandu.
Given the track record of Nepal’s governments in implementing ‘national pride’ projects like Melamchi, Pokhara airport, the MCC, or the highway to Kerung, Nepal just does not have the decision-making and management wherewithal, nor the culture of transparency to handle an infrastructure scheme on this scale.
Nijgad is a colossal white elephant. It is a gigantic logging concession masquerading as an airport project. It is a lethal mixture of kleptomania and megalomania.
Federal and Madhes Province politicians seem to have done their back of the envelope calculations about how much hardwood timber from 600,000 trees will be worth.
Officials have tried to assure us that there will be 20 trees planted for every tree cut. Where have we heard that before? And where will those 14,400,000 trees be planted, anyway — it will require an area the size of Kathmandu Valley. Nijgad is not just trees, it is a vibrant ecosystem, an important biodiversity hotspot and wildlife corridor in the Tarai Arc Landscape.
Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba promised at the Climate Summit in Glasgow in November that Nepal would expand its jungle cover to 45% by 2030. The current canopy cover is less than 40%, which means not only does the country have to expand forest cover, but it will also have to halt further denudation. Nepal also risks losing climate adaptation funding if the project goes ahead. The loss of Nijgad’s forest is irreplaceable.
We understand that no infrastructure is possible without sacrificing nature. But there are ways to ensure a win-win with green growth and climate smart development. If an alternative to Kathmandu airport is really needed, there are viable alternatives to Nijgad: expanding Simara airport without felling so many trees, building the new airport 40km to the east in Sarlahi, where no forest needs to go.
New airports in Bhairawa and Pokhara can also easily be enlarged to take some of the pressure off Kathmandu. In Kathmandu itself, the ADB project to build a new terminal and extend the taxiway to the end of the runway, and moving STOl flights to Ramechhap, will increase handling capacity in the medium-term.
Few in government are willing to listen to this when green becomes the colour of money and not of trees.
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