The Bhutanese Leading the way.
During the 5th Meet-the-Press, the Prime Minister revealed that in addition to the feasibility study for the 5 Airstrips, additional feasibility studies for Pumchula and Bartsam were carried out.
Lyonchhen also shared that study for an additional helicopter service with a passenger carrying capacity of about 12 is also ongoing.
In accordance with the executive order, MoIT conducted an initial feasibility study for the construction of five airstrips at strategic locations in the country.
Following the order, the Department of Air Transport of MoIT and relevant agencies like BCAA, NLCS and NCHM conducted a preliminary desktop study to identify 5 potential airstrips in the country and submitted the report to the Cabinet in April 2024.
The secretary of Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, Tenzin shared that the preliminary identified sites across the country are Samrang in Samdrup Jongkhar, Yoeseltse in Samtse, Buli in Zhemgang, Dagapela in Dagana and Yangbari in Mongar-Pemagatshel border.
He said since the feasibility study conducted is a desktop and preliminary one, detailed feasibility study by experts is highly recommended. The subsequent feasibility analysis should be carried out at site in order to probe deeper into the site conditions and situations to seek factual information.
Further he said that the terrain conditions of Buli and Yangbari sites are quite steep and special flight procedures may be necessary. Samrang and Yoeseltse sites have the potential for future extension to accommodate A320 aircraft operation or even be upgraded to an International Airport.
However, there are many other technical criteria that needs to be considered.
An airstrip is a simple landing and takeoff area for small aircraft, typically featuring a single, unpaved or lightly paved runway with minimal infrastructure. They are commonly used in remote or rural areas for general aviation, emergency services, and specialized industries like agriculture and mining.
