August 1: The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has announced a budget of Rs 41.85 billion for the current fiscal year (FY 2022/23).

CAAN has revised its target of generating income by double but its capital expenditure made public on Sunday is less than that of the last fiscal year.

The authority allocated Rs 26.82 billion for current expenditure in the current year, including the improvement of Tribhuvan International Airport and infrastructure development of Gautam Buddha International Airport, Pokhara Regional International Airport and other airports.

CAAN has increased its income target to Rs 14.32 billion. In the last fiscal year, the capital expenditure of the authority was Rs 32.35 billion but half was not spent.

According to the authority, only 41.70 percent (Rs 13.36 billion) of the budget allocated during last year was spent. In the last fiscal year, the authority had set an income target of Rs 6.38 billion rupees and earned 7.44 billion rupees. The authority, which earned 16.67 percent more compared to previous year, is aiming to earn Rs 14.32 billion in the current fiscal year.

 Last year, the total budget of the authority was Rs 43.67 billion. The authority has prioritized airport infrastructure development, airport operation, the strengthening of aviation and air safety in the budget and its programmes.

 Similarly, the budget prioritized the construction of an international terminal building at the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), the parking way of the same airport and a master plan of the terminal building while the construction of the arrival hall of TIA's internal terminal building is also in top priority.

The goal is to construct a terminal building, a new parallel taxiway, apron and other infrastructure at the Gautam Buddha International Airport under a multi-year contract, and complete the work of the security building and the roads and bridges within the airport.

The budget mentions that works such as cutting down the hill of Rithepani and river control at the Pokhara International Airport will be carried out.

The authority also has a plan to recommend the government regarding the construction of Nijgadh International Airport. Budget and programmes of CAAN was presented by Pradip Adhikari, director general of the authority.

The authority is going to construct new terminal buildings at Mahendranagar, Biratnagar, Rara, Jumla, Bharatpur and Ramechhap airports in the current fiscal year.