US Assists To Improve Airport Rescue Station

 

The United States government has partnered with the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) to improve airport rescue station at the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA). According to a press statement by the US embassy in Kathmandu, a financial assistance worth $426,000 will be used to retrofit the TIA's Crash, Fire and Rescue Station to make it more resistant to earthquakes."On 15 November 2013, the Office of Defense Cooperation, US Embassy Kathmandu and CAAN officially signed a Memorandum of Understanding to carry out the project," informed the statement. 

 

The statement said that the US Army Corps of Engineers, working with local contractors, will provide design and construction services. "This project is a part of a greater plan for TIA infrastructure improvement through the Seismic Resistance Program," read the statement. The work is scheduled to start in January 2014.

 

The project aims at keeping the runway open even after an earthquake. Specific areas for the program include runway integrity, navigation aids, crash-fire-rescue, and air-ground operations. Those measures come in line with efforts taken by CAAN and TIA over the past two years for disaster preparedness.