New Pokhara International Airport, Nepal

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In 1975 1,500 households were displaced for a new airport in Pokhara. The project lay dormant until it was revived in 2013. Additional land acquisition met with many protests and a violent clash that led to at least six people suering injuries

 Description:

In 1975 the Nepal government acquired 93,106 ropani the loss of farmland could cause aected people (158 hectares) of land from 1,500 households for diculties in maintaining their subsistence livelihoods, construction of a new airport in Pokhara.[1] The main assuring that the airport project would open up objective of the new airport is to provide easier access for opportunities for alternative livelihoods in trade and visitors and develop the area as a tourism hub. The land tourism.[2] acquired for the airport was agricultural and the See mo Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) recognized that

Legal notice / Aviso legal (/legal)  Basic Data

Name of conict: New Pokhara International Airport, Nepal

Country: Nepal (/country/nepal)

State or province: Gandaki Pradesh province

Location of conict: Pokhara

Accuracy of location HIGH (Local level)

 Source of Conict

Type of conict. 1st level: Infrastructure and Built Environment

Type of conict. 2nd level: Land acquisition conicts Tourism facilities (ski resorts, hotels, marinas) Ports and airport projects

Specic commodities: Land (/commodity/land) Tourism services (/commodity/tourism-services)

 Project Details and Actors

Legal notice / Aviso legal (/legal) Project details The New Pokhara International Airport site is at New Pokhara International Airport is scheduled for Chinnedanda, just 3 kilometres distance from Pokhara completion in 2021 with capacity to handle 1 million Airport, the existing airport serving the region. A USD216 passengers annually. The airport will feature a 2,500 million loan for construction of New Pokhara International meter length 45 meter wide runway to support take-o Airport, part funding the project, was nalized by China and landing operations of large commercial aircraft such Export Import Bank on 11th July 2017. China CMAC as Airbus A320, Boeing 737-700 series and Boeing 757- Engineering Co (CMAC) was awarded the contract to 200, taxiways and access roads. Landside infrastructure construct and develop the airport, commencing will include a 10,000 square meter international terminal construction in August 2016. CMAC’s bid for the project, and a 4,000 square meter domestic terminal.[18] the lowest at USD305 million, was nevertheless signicantly higher than the USD175 million budget originally set for the project.[17] (See les

Project area: 200

Level of Investment: 305,000,000

Type of population Rural

Aected Population: 1,830 households / landowners

Start of the conict: 19/03/2013

Company names or state enterprises:

Nepali Oil Corporation (NOC) (/company/nepali-oil-corporation) from Nepal (/country-of-company/nepal) - Demanded additional land allocation for airport site, for fuel storage China CAMC Engineering (CAMC) (/company/china-camc-engineering) from China (/country-of-company/china) - Awarded contract for construction of New Pokhara International Airport

Legal notice / Aviso legal (/legal) Relevant government actors: Government of Nepal Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoCTCA) Pokhara-Leknath Metropolitan Municipality Kaski District

International and Finance Institutions

China Export Import Bank (/institution/china-export-import-bank) from China (/country-of-institution/china) - Approved a USD 216 million soft loan agreeemnt for project development in March 2016

Environmental justice organizations (and other supporters) and their websites, if available: International Airport Construction Public Concern Struggle Committee

 Conict & Mobilization

Intensity HIGH (widespread, mass mobilization, violence, arrests, etc...)

Reaction stage PREVENTIVE resistance (precautionary phase)

Groups mobilizing: Farmers Neighbours/citizens/communities

Forms of mobilization: Blockades Boycotts of ocial procedures/non-participation in ocial processes Development of a network/collective action Street protest/marches Appeals/recourse to economic valuation of the environment Refusal of compensation Aected landowners attempted to padlock project oce [5]

 Impacts

Legal notice / Aviso legal (/legal) Environmental Impacts Visible: Loss of landscape/aesthetic degradation, Deforestation and loss of vegetation cover Potential: Air pollution, Food insecurity (crop damage), Global warming, Noise pollution, Reduced ecological / hydrological connectivity, Oil spills, Biodiversity loss (wildlife, agro-diversity)

Health Impacts Visible: Other Health impacts Potential: Mental problems including stress, depression and suicide

Other Health impacts Illnesses caused by pollutants emitted by aircraft At least 6 people injured in clash between landowners and police [5],[6],[7]

Socio-economical Impacts Visible: Displacement, Loss of livelihood, Loss of traditional knowledge/practices/cultures, Land dispossession, Loss o landscape/sense of place, Increase in violence and crime Potential: Violations of human rights, Other socio-economic impacts

Other socio-economic impacts Probable displacement of paragliding businesses to make way for airport ightpaths [11],[12]

 Outcome

Project Status Under construction

Conict outcome / response: Compensation Migration/displacement Violent targeting of activists

Do you consider this an environmental justice success? Was environmental justice served?: No

Legal notice / Aviso legal (/legal) Briey explain: Phased land acquisition and a land survey for New Pokhara International Airport proceeded without consulting aected residents and many aected people rejected compensation that was oered. Residents facing displacement resorted to repeated protests, warnings that they would obstruct construction and an attempt to padlock the project oce.

 Sources & Materials

Related laws and legislations - Juridical texts related to the conict

[2] Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of New Pokhara Regional International Airport, Submitted to: Government of Nepal Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment, Submitted by: Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), January 2015 [click to view] (https://www.researchgate.net/prole/Dr_Ramesh_Bhatt/publication/299485704_EIA_of_PIAP/links/56fb2d8b08aef6d10d9054a6/EIA-of- PIAP.pdf)

Links to general newspaper articles, blogs or other websites

[4] Local protest govt move of acquiring additional land, Himalayan Times, 19 March 2013 [click to view] (http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/fullNews.php?headline=+Local+protest+govt+move+of+acquiring+additional+land++&NewsID=369932

(accessed 19 December 2014))

[8] Airport project oers substitute land, Kathmandu Post, 29 December 2014 [click to view] (http://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com/news/2014-12-29/airport-project-oers-substitute-land.html)

[10] Dispute over land price ends, Ekantipur, 15 February 2015 [click to view] (http://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com/news/2015-02-15/dispute-over-land-price-ends.html)

[1] Locals refuse land for hub airport in Pokhara, Ghale Treks, 19 March 2013 [click to view] (http://ghalegroup.com/blog/locals-refuse-land-for-hub-airport-in-pokhara)

[3] With new airport, Pokhara waits for takeo, Nepali Times, 12 January 2018 [click to view] (http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Pokhara-waits-for-take-o,4136)

[5] 10 hurt in Pokhara airport construction dispute, Kathmandu Post, 18 December 2014 [click to view] (http://www.ekantipur.com/2014/12/18/national/10-hurt-in-pokhara-airport-construction-dispute/399203.html)

[6] Six people injured in clashes over land compensation, Kathmandu Post, 19 December 2014 [click to view] (http://www.ekantipur.com/2014/12/19/business/six-people-injured-in-clashes-over-land-compensation/399224.html)

Legal notice / Aviso legal (/legal) [18] Pokhara Regional International Airport (PRIA), Airport Technology [click to view] (https://www.airport-technology.com/projects/pokhara-regional-international-airport-pria/)

[7] 8 injured as agitated land owners clash with Police, Myrepublica.com (http://Myrepublica.com), 19 December 2014 [click to view] (http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=88804 (accessed 20 December 2014))

[9] DDC tells landowners to stop upping ante, Himalayan Times, 8 January 2015 [click to view] (http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/fullNews.php?headline=DDC+tells+landowners+to+stop+upping+ante&NewsID=440252 (accessed 17 January 2015))

[11] Paragliders fear being displaced by airport, Kathmandu Post, 21 June 2016 [click to view] (http://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com/news/2016-06-21/paragliders-fear-being-displaced-by-airport.html)

[12] Pokhara’s 4-decade-old dream within grasp, Kathmandu Post, 3 August 2018 [click to view] (http://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com/news/2017-08-03/pokharas-4-decade-old-dream-within-grasp.html)

[13] Construction work of Pokhara Airport intensied after PM’s Visit, tourismmail.com (http://tourismmail.com), 1 August 2018 [click to view] (http://www.tourismmail.com/construction-work-of-pokhara-airport-intensied-after-pms-visit/)

[14] Additional land acquisition proposed for Pokhara Regional International Airport, aviationnepal.com (http://aviationnepal.com), 10 August 2018 [click to view] (https://www.aviationnepal.com/additional-land-acquisition-proposed-for-pokhara-regional-international-airport/)

[15] Locals protest against additional land acquisition at Pokhara International Airport, aviationnepal.com (http://aviationnepal.com), 15 August 2018 [click to view] (https://www.aviationnepal.com/locals-protest-against-additional-land-acquisition-at-pokhara-international-airport/)

[16] Pokhara airport’s foundation laying slated for April 14, Kathmandu Post, 1 April 2016 [click to view] (http://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com/news/2016-04-01/pokhara-airports-foundation-laying-slated-for-april-14.html)

[17] New Pokhara International Airport, Centre for Aviation (CAPA) [click to view] (https://centreforaviation.com/data/proles/newairports/new-pokhara-international-airport)

Legal notice / Aviso legal (/legal) Other documents

Site of new airport fenced o in 2016 Construction of Pokhara International Airport began in June 2016. Source: Ekantipur [click to view] (https://le.ejatlas.org/docs/Pokhara__new__3.jpg)

Boundary of Pokhara International Airport Source: Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of New Pokhara Region International Airport, Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), 2015 [click to view] (https://le.ejatlas.org/docs/Pokhara__new__1.jpg)

Construction stalled in 2017 Construction of Pokhara International Airport stalled in 2017. Source: Kathmandu Post [click to view] (https://le.ejatlas.org/docs/Pokhara__new__4.jpg)

The new airport may displace paragliding activities Pokhara is a popular paragliding destination, but may be aecte by airspace regulations. Source: Kathmandu Post [click to view] (https://le.ejatlas.org/docs/Pokhara__new__3a.jpg)

Site of Pokhara International Airport, 2014 In December 2014 landowners protested over the low compensation rat oered by the government. Source: myrepublica.com (http://myrepublica.com) [click to view] (https://le.ejatlas.org/docs/Pokhara__new__2.jpg)

Pokhara International Airport construction Construction of Pokhara International Airport underway in February 2018. Source: Kathmandu Post [click to view] (https://le.ejatlas.org/docs/Pokhara__new__5.jpg)

 Meta information

Contributor: Rose Bridger, Stay Grounded, email: [email protected]

Last update 03/10/2018

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