The six foreign companies and their Nepali partners are Yooshin Engineering Corp of South Korea and BDAnepal and ERMC Ltd, Louis Berger Group, Inc of the US and ITECO Nepal, and Arab Consulting Engineers of Egypt and NEST Ltd.

Likewise, Ayesa Ingenieria Y Arquitectura of Spain and Aéroports De Paris Ingénierie France as JV partners and GEOCE Consultants Ltd and Air Transport Development and Management as Nepali partners, KOCKS Consultant of Germany and Building Design Authority Ltd, and Ingenieria Y Economia Del Transporte of Spain and Group of Engineers’ Consortium Ltd are the other short listed firms.

The main job of the consultant will be to help Caan supervise the construction and rehabilitation of the runway and taxiways at TIA by providing assistance in management, procurement and supervision and administration of the contract.

The proposed improvement works consist of rehabilitating the airport’s 3,050 x 60 metre runway and 1,950 x 23 metre parallel taxiway, exit taxiway pavement, drainage and airfield lighting including the runway centre line lights.

On September 23, 2014, Caan had invited expressions of interest from potential international consultants in association with national consultants.

“The short listed firms have been given a month to submit their technical and financial proposals, and the consultant will selected on the basis of quality and cost,” said Babu Ram Poudel, chief of the Civil Engineering Division of Caan.

According to Poudel, the selection of the consultant and the invitation of tenders for the construction will proceed simultaneously.

“The consultancy and construction contracts will be signed by mid-August,” he said, adding that the construction and rehabilitation works would begin after the monsoon this year.

A report submitted by Ayesa Ingenieria of Spain, which had been contracted to make an evaluation of the runway and taxiway at TIA, has revealed that the runway is not strong enough to handle wide-body aircraft due to its ageing asphalt foundation, and distress is caused to the upper surface instantly when heavy jets land.

The damage to the lower asphalt layers is reflected quickly in the upper surface resulting in cracks and other damage to the runway.

Repeated occurrences of cracks on the runway at the country’s sole international aerial gateway have been affecting smooth operation of aircraft since 2011.

Scores of flights have had to be diverted or delayed in recent years due to problems in the runway.

The report also said that when compared to the core part of the runway between 2006 and 2013, damage to the intermediate layers was caused by the operation of large jets like the Airbus A330 and the Boeing 777.

In 2013, there were 1,000 operations of A330-300 aircraft, 955 of Boeing 777 and 452 of A330-200, and the numbers are expected to double in the next 20 years.