The government is moving to acquire another 140 bighas of land around the proposed site of Gautam Buddha Airport (GBA) in Bhairahawa to enhance its airside capacity. GBA, which will be transformed into an international airport by 2017, will be spread over 427 bighas.

“The initial work to acquire the additional land has begun,” Om Prakash Sharma, chief of the project, said. “We have already issued a public notice in this regard.” He added that a land compensation determination committee would be formed soon under the coordination of the chief district officer.

The government has set aside Rs2.47 billion to acquire the additional land which would be required as per the government’s plan to increase the airside capacity after 15 years. GBA is the gateway to Lumbini, the Buddha’s birthplace in southern Nepal, and the expansion is expected to boost pilgrimage tourism. Lumbini has been rapidly gaining popularity as an international destination but suffers from poor access which has hindered further growth.

The first phase of the construction will be completed by the end of 2017. The planned airport will have a 3,000-metre runway and a capacity to serve 760,000 passengers annually after the first phase. The airport will have six international parking bays.

During the second phase of development which will commence after 10 years, the airport is projected to handle up to 2 million passengers annually. After the airport is completed by 2033, it will be able to handle up to 6 million passengers annually.

Project officials had earlier estimated that the upgradation work would be delayed by at least six months as work was disrupted by shortages of fuel and building materials due to the Tarai banda that lasted for four months.

Three months after the construction work began, the country was rocked by a massive earthquake on April 25. Although, the Tarai belt was not affected by the tremor, the project came to a halt for one and a half months as terrified workers refused to return to work. Then from mid-August, violent protests erupted continuously in the Tarai districts, which brought the airport project to a near standstill. Sharma said that the project had implemented a rush schedule to make up for lost time. “Since Tuesday, the daily working hours have been increased to 12 hours from 8 hours,” said Sharma. Likewise, the project has increased the capacity of the equipment.  

The then Prime Minister the late Sushil Koirala had laid the foundation stone of the long-planned airport upgradation project on January 15 last year. On November 13, 2013, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (Caan) awarded the contract to upgrade the airport to China’s Northwest Civil Aviation Airport Construction Group.

Of the $90.6 million project cost, the Asian Development Bank has provided $58.50 million ($42.75 million in loans and $15.75 million in grants), the Opec Fund for International Development (OFID) will give a $15 million loan and Caan will bear the rest of the cost as counterpart funding.