Third international airport comes into operation

Social justice, good governance, people’s prosperity basic mantra: PM

Pokhara/Kathmandu, Jan. 1

The third international airport in the country built in Pokhara has come into operation since Sunday, the first day of 2023 of the Gregorian Calendar.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ inaugurated the aviation infrastructure amidst a programme and fanfare held in Pokhara Metropolitan City while Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Paudel accompanied him.

There are other two international airports in the country – Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu and Gautam Buddha International Airport in Bhairahawa that came into operation from May 16, 2022.

The Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister had landed at the Pokhara International Airport (PIA) in a Buddha Air aircraft Sunday morning.

The inauguration was made on the first day of the 2023 to give a message to the world that the facility was built in the lake city which is one of the major tourist destinations in the country and gateway to the famous religious sites like Muktinath and Galeshwar Dham, and tourist areas like Jomsom, Lo-manthang and Annapurna Round Trek.

The PIA is a dream come true for the people of Pokhars since it was realised after about five-decade since its conceptualisation.

 

Handling one million passengers

The airport, situated at Chhine Danda of Pokhara Metropolis in Kaski district, is expected to handle one million passengers a year.

It is approximately 3km east of Pokhara’s existing domestic airport and 200km west of capital city of Nepal, Kathmandu. Its elevation is around 800 meters above sea level.

Its runway is of ICAO-4D category and is 45-metre wide and 2500-metre long, and runway designation is 12-30. The airport has three international parking bays and eight domestic parking bays. The largest type of aircraft expected to use the airport is B737 series and similar aircraft types.

The Rs. 22 billion project was developed with the financial support of US$ 215.96 million from China while the Chinese CAMC Engineering Company has built the facility. The construction was completed in March 2022 and the completion ceremony was organised virtually during the visit of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on March 26 last year. Following it, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) had announced to bring it into operation from January 1, 2023.

Test flights at the PIA were conducted by Thailand's Aero Thai in November last year.

It’s a coincidence that the stone-laying ceremony of the project was done by then then communist Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli in April 2016 and inauguration is done by another Prime Minister  Prachanda, another communist leader.

 

Good governance a basic mantra: PM Prachanda

Inaugurating the PIA, PM Prachanda said that the government under his leadership would work on the basic mantra of social justice, good governance and the prosperity of the people and economic development.

"Earlier, I played a leading role for the establishment of a democratic republic, now I will advance the country towards development by promoting economic development, prosperity and good governance," he said.

He also pointed out that the construction of Nijgadh International Airport in Bara district of Madhes Province is necessary, adding that air-route was the best and most effective means for the connectivity of a landlocked country like Nepal. Although the governments in the past had announced that a mega aviation infrastructure in Nijgadh would be developed, but the project has failed to make any headway in the later years.

Likewise, PM Prachanda termed the opportunity to inaugurate the PIA just a week after assuming the responsibility of the PM as a 'great one' as it is happening in the district of his birth.

He recalled that he had taken the initiative for the construction of international airport in Pokhara through the Chinese Embassy in Kathmandu and discussed the issue with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a meeting with the latter  in March, 2017.

The PM expressed his confidence that the economic development of the entire nation would be boosted by the opening of Pokhara Airport. He praised Shankar Raj Pathak, the architect of the PIA, as his mentor and honoured him and all those who helped in the construction of the airport. Pathak was felicitated by Pokhara Metropolis with a chariot ride.

 

Means to promote tourism

Similarly, DPM Paudel said that since infrastructure development was the first pillar for the economic development of the country, PIA would help  promote tourism in Lumbini, Pokhara and Chitwan.

He claimed that after the road sections of Pokhara-Muglin, Pokhara-Butwal and Narayangadh-Butwal are upgraded, tourism would be transformed in this area.

DPM Paudel said that although there were problems in the country's economy, the situation was not beyond the control, and he was committed to solving them and take the country to the path of economic development soon.

 

CM urges China to convert loan to grant

Chief Minister of Gandaki Province Krishna Chandra Nepali Pokharel urged the central government to discuss the air route with India immediately. He said that even though Pokhara is the capital of tourism, this airport will be worthwhile to extend the stay of tourists.

Chief Minister Pokharel asked China to convert 75 per cent of the loan, obtained by the government of Nepal from the Exim Bank of China for the PIA construction into a grant. Of the total loan of Rs. 22 billion, 25 per cent was grant and 75 per cent loan.

He said that there should be flights from the airport in the first phase to South Asia and in the second phase to the western countries.

 Chief Minister Pokharel expressed confidence that the number of tourists in Pokhara would increase significantly after the airport becomes operational.

Stating that an international auditorium and a cricket ground are also necessary for Pokhara, he requested PM Prachanda to allocate necessary budget for that.

Chief Secretary Shankarraj Bairagi, Director General of CAAN Pradip Adhikari, Mayor of Pokhara Metropolis Dhanraj Acharya, China's Acting Ambassador to Nepal Wang Xin, political leaders and high government officials attended the inauguration ceremony while thousands of locals reached the venue for a celebration. 

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 2 January 2023 (with reporting from Ramesh Poudel in Pokhara).