Nepal begins upgrading airport in Buddha's birthplace

Nepal's Prime Minister Sushil Koirala on Thursday laid the foundation stone for the upgrading project of the Gautam Buddha Airport in Bhairahawa, some 20 km away from Lumbini, the birthplace of the Buddha.

The project is aimed to turn the airport into an alternative to the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, the only international airport in the Himalayan nation that has witnessed heavy traffic congestion over recent years.

"Nepal is a virgin land for development. Development has begun in Nepal by the construction of this international airport," said the prime minister.

The project is financed by Asian Development Bank loan and grant, and is undertaken by China's Northwest Civil Aviation Airport Construction Group that won the bidding.

The first phase of the project will be completed in 2018, when the airport will have a capacity to serve 760,000 passengers annually.

The new airport will comprise a 3,000-meter runway, new pavements for aircraft parking and taxiway, drainage system, access roads for fuel farm and cargo, new airport boundary and complete new infrastructures including the passenger terminal building, control tower, air cargo and maintenance building and crash fire rescue building.

"This airport can work as a transit point between two giant economies - India and China - to expand business," said Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Deepak Chandra Amatya.

The second phase of the project is expected to be completed by 2030 to enable the airport to handle up to 2 million passengers. Endi