Government to acquire another 140 bighas for Gautam Buddha Airport

Kathmandu March 4- 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 of issuing a public notice and formation of land compensation determination committee is underway on this regard. 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.

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.

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.