Pokhara International Airport Comes Into Operation From January 1
January 1, 2023 | Investopaper
Pokhara International Airport, a project of national pride, has come into operation from today. On the occasion of English New Year, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ is inaugurating the airport.
All the preparations for the opening of the airport have been completed. Although there will be internal flights from the new airport, no external flights have been decided.
Currently, the airport will operate only from 5 AM to 5 PM. After February 23, the airport will operate for 18 hours a day.
The Chinese company CAMC Engineering is constructing the airport at a cost of Rs. 22 billion. Earlier, an agreement was reached to complete the construction work on July 10, 2021, but the deadline was extended by one year due to a delay in construction because of the global epidemic Corona Virus (Covid-19).
Construction Details
The airport is built with a loan of around Rs 22 billion from China’s Exim Bank. The construction of the airport was started on Shrawan 18, 2074. About 75 percent of the loan is from the bank at 2 percent interest and 25 percent is an interest-free loan from the Chinese government.
According to the EPC (Engineering, Procurement, and Construction) model, the Airport is built according to the standards of the International Civil Aviation Organization. The government had taken 3,106 ropanis of land for the airport in 2032 BS. Since that is not enough, the government has acquired more land from time to time. After that 521 ropanis land was acquired in the first phase of the project, followed by 104 ropanis of land last time.
Medium airplanes carrying 192 to 200 passengers will land and take off at the Pokhara airport. There will be direct flights from Pokhara to Beijing, Azerbaijan, Singapore, and Doha.
The beginning of operations of Pokhara International Airport will be great for the hospitality sector and the local economy of Pokhara.