SPEAKER M.ENKHBOLD VISITS THE NEW AIRPORT IN KHUSHIG VALLEY
On March 22, Speaker of Parliament M.Enkhbold visited the site of the New Ulaanbaatar International Airport, which is being built with Japanese financing. When Speaker M.Enkhbold asked the airport's Project Director, B.Enkhbat, why power supply infrastructure for the airport has been delayed, B.Enkhbat said that the airport's emergency generator and power transmission lines from the Songino-Tuul hydroelectic power plant have been installed, but completion has been delayed because of financial challenges facing the power plant.
He reported that the power plant is at nearly 90 percent completion, and that it is being designed to be the airport's main source of power, but the project has exceeded its budget.
B.Enkhbat added that he has informed Mayor of Ulaanbaatar S.Batbold of the financial issues and asked for assistance, as the power supply project is being financed by the city.
The Speaker of Parliament said, “Mongolia has the responsibility to carry out some construction projects, but some of them have been stopped due to a lack of financing. We must resolve this financial problem quickly to complete this megaproject.”
Speaker M.Enkhbold underlined that the project will be completed by instructing the heads of the state agencies involved in the airport to resolve finan- cial challenges quickly.
A state-appointed airport review commission requested the resolution of 1,160 works in progress, and the airport's management team reports that approximately 1,000 works have been completed to meet the commission's standards. After another 200 of the commission's requests are fulfilled, the new airport will be ready to launch its first flights.
The new airport is expected to begin official operations in May 2018, and its opening is expected to create nearly 300 new jobs. Employees of Chinngis Khaan International Airport will be transferring to the new airport in advance of its opening.