Construction work under the expansion of Tribhuvan International Airport, one of Nepal's designated national pride projects, has come to a halt after supplies of high-grade crushed stone required for the project were cut off.

The disruption stems from a dispute between aggregate suppliers and Godawari Municipality in Lalitpur district, compounded by an unresolved court order that has prevented construction materials from leaving quarries in the municipality.

According to Dipendra Shrestha, project director of the Air Transport Capacity Enhancement Project under the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, work on two major airport facilities has been suspended because contractors can no longer obtain the specialised aggregate.

“Blacktopping of the northern uniform taxiway has stopped completely. The contractor has also suspended concrete paving on the newly built international apron,” Shrestha told Kantipur. “The taxiway work carried out at night, and the daytime apron concreting have both been affected.”

Shrestha said nearly 90 percent of the airport expansion had already been completed, but the shortage of construction materials had stalled the final phase of the project. The delay is expected to push back the completion deadline and increase project costs.

“If the aggregate supply remains blocked, contractors will have to be granted additional time. That could also drive up the overall cost of the project,” he said.

He said the aggregate required for airport infrastructure differs significantly from that used in ordinary road construction.

“Roads are designed for vehicles weighing around 20 to 25 tonnes. Airport pavements, however, must withstand aircraft weighing between 200 and 300 tonnes on average. That requires exceptionally hard, high-quality aggregate,” Shrestha said. “At present, material meeting those specifications is available only in the Godawari area, which also produces the size required for airport construction.”

Three crusher plants operating in Godawari have been supplying crushed stone and aggregate for the airport project. According to crusher operator Madhusudan Dotel, the suppliers include Birendra Maharjan Stone Quarry and Nirakar Roda-Dhunga Industry in Tikabhairab, along with Machhindra Multipurpose Crusher Quarry Industry and Bahubali Construction Pvt. Ltd. in Devichaur.

All supplies from those facilities have now stopped.

Birendra Maharjan, proprietor of Birendra Maharjan Stone Quarry, said the company filed a contempt of court case at the Lalitpur District Court about a month ago after the municipality failed to implement an order issued by the Patan High Court.

He said municipal police had been stationed around the quarry area, making it impossible to transport construction materials.

Godawari Mayor Gajendra Maharjan denied that the municipality had blocked supplies.

“The matter is before the court because the businesses sought legal remedy. The municipality is not responsible for the disruption,” he said.

He said the Patan High Court had directed the Forest Office, the Department of Mines and Geology and the Survey Office to determine the boundaries of the quarry sites and submit a report. The municipality is waiting for those reports before taking any further action.

“Once the concerned agencies submit their reports, we will proceed accordingly,” the mayor said.

On December 17, 2025, the Patan High Court issued a writ of mandamus in the name of Godawari Municipality in a writ petition filed by Bahubali Construction Pvt. Ltd. Noting that the municipality had granted transportation permits in previous years after collecting taxes and fees, the court ordered it to recover taxes in accordance with the prevailing law for the current fiscal year and allow the transportation of stored crushed stone, gravel, stone and sand for the Airport Expansion Project.

The court concluded that the municipality's failure to initiate the legal process for tax collection had obstructed business operations and was affecting a national pride project.

Court documents show that Bahubali Construction had also submitted an application to the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers in October, seeking facilitation for the transportation of construction materials.

Following that request, the Lalitpur District Administration Office wrote to the municipality asking it to facilitate transport. The municipality replied that the company had not fulfilled legal requirements, including obtaining industrial permits and completing environmental assessment reports, and therefore, assistance could not be provided.

Although the High Court later ordered the municipality to allow transport, implementation remains disputed.

Dotel, owner of Nirakar Roda-Dhunga Industry, alleged that political disputes within the municipality were behind the supply disruption.

He said there had been no problems with quarry registration, licence renewals or royalty collection when the former District Development Committee handled those responsibilities. The disputes began only after authority was transferred to local governments under Nepal's federal system.

According to Dotel, tensions escalated after the municipality claimed that individual crusher operators owed between Rs50 million and Rs100 million in outstanding dues.

“A complaint was also filed with the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority. The case was later sent back to the municipality for resolution, but the issue became politicised,” he said.

Three major infrastructure projects are currently under construction at Tribhuvan International Airport: an international apron and taxiway costing approximately Rs7 billion, a new hangar area valued at around Rs4 billion, and a parallel taxiway estimated at another Rs4 billion.

The projects, scheduled for completion by 2026, are intended to increase the airport's annual handling capacity to nearly 10 million passengers.

At the peak of construction, about 300 tipper trucks made nearly 900 trips to the airport every night to deliver construction materials. With aggregate supplies from Godawari now suspended, key components of the airport expansion have been brought to a standstill.