April 1: The Tribhuvan International Airport will remain closed for ten hours a day for three months from Monday evening for upgrading the runway.

China National Aerotechnology International has been assigned the task of upgrading the runway. According to sources at TIA, the airport will remain closed from 10 pm till 8 am every day.

Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) signed an agreement to this effect with the Chinese company on October 12. The upgrading of the runway is estimated to cost Rs 3.75 billion.

Director General of TIA Sanjeev  Gautam said that the airport will not face any problem for the next 25 to 30 years once the runway gets upgraded.

According to him, the Chinese company will ‘rehabilitate’ 80 meters of the runway every day.

The runway overlay was done four times before but this is the first time that it is being fully upgraded.

Airport authorities said they decided to overhaul the runway after recurring problems of blacktopping coming off the runway.