Bhattarai, during the meeting, said all the political parties, including those in the government and the opposition, would extend moral support to the project - a long-cherished dream of Pokhara locals. [break]
PM also said it was a high priority project of the government, one member of the delegation said on condition of anonymity.
A lobby group of politicians, hoteliers, tourism entrepreneurs and civil society members from Pokhara met Bhattarai to request him to ensure implementation of the project. The delegation was led by Krishna Mohan Shrestha, president of the Pokhara Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Some four decades ago the government acquired land at Chhinedanda of Pokhara for the construction of the airport. Recently, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal called for bidders in this regard. The project is being implemented with a soft loan of Rs 12 billion from Export-Import Bank of China. The government targets to complete the project in five years.
"This project is not just the pride of people of Pokhara but also the pride of the nation. That´s why the project has been given high priority by the government," Bhattarai was quoted as saying.
Locals from Pokhara have put pressure on the government to "safeguard" the project following rumors that regional international airports was being constructed in Nijghar and Lumbini instead of Pokhara.
"We met the PM to exert pressure on the government to construct regional international airport in Pokhara," one of the members of the delegation said.
The delegation is also meeting top leaders including Maoist chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Nepali Congress President Sushil Koirala, CPN-UML chairman Jhala Nath Khanal.
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