The new airport at Bhairahawa formerly name of Siddharthanagar, India which is funded by the Manila-based Asian Development Bank and the OPEC Fund for International Development, but built by China’s Northwest Civil Aviation Airport Construction Group.
Recently Nepal’s Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba inaugurated the country’s second international airport built by China to link Lumbini, the birthplace of Lord Buddha and a major tourism and pilgrimage centre with Buddhist circuits in South Asia as well as the rest of the World. The USD 76 million Gautam Buddha International Airport was inaugurated on the day when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Lumbini, Nepal on the occasion of Buddha Purnima and he also expressed his desire to expand the bilateral cooperation in several areas, including hydropower, development and connectivity. Deuba also had an extensive talk with Nepalese counterpart about the expand in between the two neighbouring countries. Prime Minister Modi and his team reached Lumbini in a special helicopter of the Indian Air Force from Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh. According to the information, the new airport at Bhairahawa is 19 km away from the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Lumbini which is funded by the Manila-based Asian Development Bank and the OPEC Fund for International Development but it was built by China’s Northwest Civil Aviation Airport Construction Group. The construction of the airport is part of China’s ambitious efforts in mega infrastructure projects in the Himalayan nation.
The construction of the airport is part of China’s ambitious efforts in mega infrastructure projects in the Himalayan nation.
According to a press release which was issued by the ADB Nepal office, the inauguration was marked successful by the landing of an international commercial flight. Addressing the inauguration ceremony, Prime Minister of Nepal said that the inauguration of the airport is a historic day in the aviation and tourism sectors of Nepal and it will also contribute to the country’s overall development and prosperity for a long term. Further Prem Bahadur Ale the Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation said that, “The opening of the airport is a moment of pride for the country. As Nepal’s second international airport, it will serve as an alternate for Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, and airlines will no longer have to divert to other countries in the event of bad weather or other technical issues”. Speaking on the occasion, Arnaud Kachois, ADB Country director for Nepal, congratulated the Government of Nepal on the completion and opening of the airport despite the challenges posed by the pandemic. It is also said that the airport will form the cornerstone of the country’s overall development by facilitating tourism, expanding trade and economic activity, creating local employment opportunities and improving international air transport access for migrant workers and people living in the surrounding provinces. The new airport facility, which can accommodate wide-bodied airplanes, has a terminal building of 15,169 square meters and a new runway of 3,000 metres. In addition, an advanced instrument landing system will be used at GBIA, which will allow the aircraft to land even in low visibility for the first time for Nepal.
In addition, an advanced instrument landing system will be used at GBIA, which will allow the aircraft to land even in low visibility for the first time for Nepal.
