Govt plans to complete upgradation by 2017

• A computer-generated image of the proposed Gautam Buddha Regional International Airport.

KATHMANDU, DEC 01 -

Expansion of Bhairahawa-based Gautam Buddha airport into a regional international airport has formally started. The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) on Friday invited bids for the project, aiming to complete it by 2017.

The airport is termed one of the most viable projects due to its potential to draw a large number of Buddhist pilgrims to the birthplace of Gautam Buddha. It will also serve as an alternative

to Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), already strained due to heavy traffic.  “After completion, the airport will serve as a second air entry point to Nepal,” said Murari Bhandari, project director.

Due to the lack of a secondary airport , a large number of international flights are compelled to circle the sky or be diverted to Kolkata and Lucknow of India, and Dhaka of Bangladesh, among other airport s, when problems arise at TIA.

The planned airport with a 3,000-m runway will be able to handle 600,000 passengers annually after the competition of the first phase of upgradation. In the second phase (after 10 years), it will handle up to 2 million passengers, and finally, the airport will be able to process up to 6 million passengers annually when it is complete. The airport will have six international parking bays. According to Bhandari, the project would be a milestone for the country’s tourism development. A number of international airlines, particularly from East Asia, have shown interest in connecting Lumbini directly if there was an international-standard airport .

“The airport will turn Lumbini into an international pilgrimage hub. On the other hand, it will boost the local economy as a

number of star hotels will be operating in surrounding areas,” Bhandari said.

A $99.5-million project has been devised to build the airport in Bhairahawa and infrastructure in Lumbini. The airport component has been valued at $90.6 million. A visitor information desk, tourism promotion activities and electricity vehicles, among other projects, have been planned in Lumbini under the same package.

The first phase of airport upgradation was originally planned to start by the end of 2011. But project hit a roadblock due to the lack of resources after a fresh study showed that another $53 million would be required to complete it. An earlier survey carried out by the ADB four years ago had estimated that the upgradation would cost around $36 million.

The project will be financed by a loan and grant aid of $42.96 million and $12.75 million, respectively, from the ADB under the South Asia Tourism Infrastructure Development Project. The OPEC Fund for International Development, as a co-financing arm of the ADB, is providing $15 million in loan. The Nepal government and the CAAN will be contributing $29.17 million.

Earlier, a 2,600-m runway was proposed, but after realising the need for an international-standard airport , the length was later extended. Last year, the government launched a tourism promotion campaign named “Visit Lumbini Year 2012” in a bid to restore the image of the place, which was tarnished due to the 10-year Maoist conflict. According to official data, 249,196 foreign tourists from 92 countries visited Lumbini last year.