Bhairahawa airport to be upgraded by 2017

The government has postponed its plan to complete Gautam Buddha Airport (GBA) upgradation project by two years from 2015 due to failure to arrange adequate funds on time. “The GBA project will now be complete by 2017 as against previous deadline of 2015,” said project director of Gautam Buddha Airport Upgrading Component under the South Asia Tourism Infrastructure Development Project-Nepal Murari Bhandari. Bhandari, however, said there would not be any delay in commencing works this time. “We will immediately start the work upon receiving formal loan approval letter from the Asian Development Bank (ADB),” he informed, adding, the letter is expected to arrive by September 19. Once the project is complete, the airport located in Bhairahawa will have a 3000-metre-long runway with ability to handle international flights and wide-body aircraft. The airport will also have a new international terminal building and an upgraded domestic terminal. A recent meeting between Finance Minister Shanker Prasad Koirala, project implementers, ADB representatives and officials of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal had concluded that project can restart its procurement process right after Dashain festival. Gautam Buddha Airport Upgrading Component was actually a five-year project (2010–2015) under the South Asia Tourism Infrastructure Development Project–Nepal. But it could not start works on time because of fund crunch. Concurrently, changes were also made to the original plan, which increased project’s cost and ultimately pushed back plans to start the bidding process. So far, the ADB has expressed commitment to extend financial assistance of US$30 million for the project and the rest of the amount will have to be provided by the government. A study conducted in 2007-08 had estimated total project cost to stand at $38.15 million. However, the project’s cost soared to $90 million after a Korean company completed the final design and construction survey. source: Himalayan Times