The nation’s only international airport has grabbed headlines mostly for wrong reasons. If immigration hassles aren’t embarrassing enough, monkey terror and pot-holes in the runway make it one of the most detested airports in the world. So given the pitiable state, privatising the management in order to improve its condition is not such a bad idea. But international airport holds a strategic significance for every nation, which is why the government’s move to hand over TIA’s management to an Indian company is being seen as a compromise on national security.
After the news broke out in the mainstream media, the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has written to Director General Tri Ratna Manandhar of Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) expressing serious concerns over the matter. The anti-graft body has also directed his office to furnish clarifications on the matter within three days.
According to the earlier reports in the media, Indian company Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Limited (IL&FS) has expressed its interest in the project.