The Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a concessional loan worth US$150 million on November 20 to improve the capacity of two major airports in Nepal. The airports will be upgraded as per the Initial Environmental Examinations (IEEs) carried out by the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoCTCA) of Nepal for the ADB in August this year. The two airports are the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), situated 5.56 km east of Kathmandu city, and Gautam Buddha Airport (GBA) located in Lumbini, the birth place of Lord Buddha which is regarded as the shrine for Buddhists across the world.
Stating that the project will focus on helping the country’s tourism industry to recover by addressing the long-term negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, ADB Senior Transport Specialist for South Asia, Kai Wei Yeo, said, “ADB’s support will improve TIA’s safety, capacity, and operational efficiency.” The new GBA international terminal will play a key role in boosting regional tourism in and around Lumbini, he added.
Tourism is considered to be a major source of economic activity in Nepal. According to ADB, in 2019, tourism generated an estimated US$2.05 billion which accounted for 6.7% of gross domestic product. TIA in Kathmandu is the country’s only international airport and is also a major hub for domestic air transport.
The single runway TIA currently handles around 40 international flights daily along with almost 160 domestic flights. In addition, around 30 international carriers and 20 domestic airlines operate regular flights to and from TIA. During normal operations prior to the COVID19 restrictions, the airport saw approximately 400 arrivals and departures every day.
Although there is growing demand from international passengers travelling to Nepal, the TIA handles about half of the country’s domestic air traffic as well. There is therefore an immediate need to increase the capacity of the Nepal civil aviation sector to address the increasing demand. Realizing this, the Government of Nepal is developing the GBA and the Pokhara International Airport as national pride projects with the two additional international airports expected to share some of the international air traffic currently using TIA. The GBA in Lumbini is expected to serve as an alternative international air transport facility for Nepal.
The ADB loan will support the construction of a parallel taxiway extension and hangar aprons at TIA and a new international terminal building at GBA to increase capacity. As per the IEEs carried out in August this year, the project also aims to minimize climate change impacts. This will be achieved by using clean energy materials such as solar panels and energy-efficient lighting which will be installed at the new GBA terminal building.
The upgrading of GBA will be undertaken under the South Asia Tourism Infrastructure Project (SATIDP). It is contributing to the development of GBA to achieve regional international standard Category E as per the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) guidelines and the further development of the Lumbini area is being undertaken by the Lumbini Development Trust (LDT).
