The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (Caan) has invited local and foreign consulting firms to submit expressions of interest to conduct a detailed project report (DPR) for a luxury hotel project at Sinamangal, Kathmandu. 

Aspirant firms must have completed at least one DPR for a five-star hotel in the last 10 years to be eligible to participate, Caan said. They have been given 45 days to submit their documents.  

Caan’s proposal to lease out its 92 ropanis of land at Sinamangal to build a luxury hotel and other facilities to host international MICE events was cleared by the Cabinet’s Economic and Infrastructure Committee last January. The panel okayed the plan to do a detailed project report under the build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) model.

“Shortlisted firms will be invited to submit a request for proposal (RFP) for a specific assignment,” said Babu Ram Poudel, chief of the Air Transport Capacity Enhancement Project.

Based on the report, Caan will invite interested private parties to develop the project through a competitive bidding process. He said that the lease amount for the land would be determined by the report.

Under the BOOT model, the land can be leased for at least 30 years, after which period the land and structures built on it will be returned to Caan. “If things go as planned, the process will take at least nine months from start to finish,” said Poudel. Caan had proposed a build a five-star airport hotel only, but the Economic and Infrastructure Committee told the government that the land was large enough to accommodate an international-standard venue to host tourism events. Tourism Ministry officials said the move was aimed at making commercial use of the underutilised land in such a prime location.

They said the plan also aimed to facilitate tourism by offering accommodation to travellers passing through Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA).

Building a luxury hotel near the country’s sole international airport will also help promote tourism besides serving transit passengers.

Government officials said there would be no dearth of investors as the proposed hotel is financially viable due to its ideal location and proximity to the airport. An Armed Police Force unit is currently stationed on the proposed construction site.

Finance Ministry approved Caan’s proposal in November 2013 after the Tourism Ministry gave its go-ahead in January 2013.  There are currently nine five-star hotels operating in Nepal—seven in Kathmandu and two in Pokhara.