MoIT to Study Possibility of an Airport in Mongar at Various Locations

The Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport (MoIT) will conduct another round of site review at Pongchula to assess the possibility of terrain modification and determine the cost of remodeling, should the government decide to proceed with the construction of an airport over there.

Chandra Bdr. Gurung, the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport said that the Ministry has not issued any official statement regarding the feasibility of constructing an airport at Pongchula in Mongar.

“At this point, there hasn’t been any formal assessment or decision that would deem the location feasible for such a development,” said the Minister.

However, the Minister said that a team from the Ministry will be sent to Mongar to study suitable location to build an airport.

For instance, a recent analysis of meteorological data collected from May 2021 to May 2025 (a span of four years) indicates that the dominant wind direction has consistently been from the northeast.

The Ministry highlighted that although this prevailing wind direction results in a crosswind, the relatively low average wind speeds observed over the period do not seem to significantly affect aircraft operations. Notably, about 95% of the recorded wind speeds were at or below 8 knots, with only approximately 5% exceeding 8.4 knots, and the maximum recorded speed reaching 21.2 knots.

“To address the challenges posed by the misaligned and narrow ridge, terrain modification could be a viable solution,” the Minister said, adding that, this would involve realigning and widening the ridge to support the required runway and related infrastructure.

The Minister further stated that such a project would necessitate a comprehensive feasibility study to assess the potential for reshaping the terrain through engineering techniques such as retaining walls, earth embankments, and other structural measures to create a stable, level platform suitable for constructing an airstrip.

However, the Minister said that the previous studies have concluded that construction of an airstrip at Pongchula, Mongar is not feasible, primarily due to the meteorological data collected over a five-month period following the installation of an Automatic Weather Station in 2021 indicated that the maximum wind blew from Northeast direction (24.7% on average).

As the proposed runway orientation is along the ridge from South to North, there was evidence of maximum cross wind, posing operational challenges, the Ministry highlighted.

In addition, the Minister said that the ridge is characterized by a narrow width, steep and irregular terrain and inconsistent linear alignment. “This poses substantial challenges to achieving the necessary runway width and accommodating landside infrastructure,” said the Minister.

Meanwhile, the topography offers minimal support for efficient airstrip development where, as a result, extensive earthwork along with the construction of retaining walls or similar side reinforcement is required to obtain adequate space for the runway and associated infrastructure.

Sherab Dorji  from Thimphu