Gautam Buddha International Airport at risk of billions of investment

But even after four years of the construction of the airport, the investment of the businessmen is at risk due to the lack of regular international flights. The uncertainty of the operation of the airport is not limited to the hotel business. Difficulty in repaying bank loans, uncertainty of employment and sluggish local economy are also paying the price. The issue of not being able to operate the airport at full capacity has once again shaken the tourism and economic sector of Bhairahawa.

At an interaction on ‘Gautam Buddha International Airport and Lumbini: Potential for Tourism Connectivity and Economic Prosperity’ organized by the Center for

Social Innovation and Foreign Policy in Bhairahawa, ministers, tourism entrepreneurs and representatives of the private sector expressed their dissatisfaction over uncertainty in the operation of the airport. They urged the government to come up with a practical plan for the operation of regular flights rather than making the airport a subject of political discourse.

On the occasion, Executive Chairman of the Center Bijay Kant Karna said that it is unfortunate that the airport has not been used commercially despite the infrastructure being ready. According to him, the airport has a 3,000-meter long runway, a terminal that can handle about 10 lakh passengers annually and the infrastructure to accommodate five international aircraft at a time. However, the infrastructure and manpower have to be kept ready even as there have been no scheduled international flights for more than six months. He said that the responsibility of managing more than a hundred employees and operating expenses of more than eight crore rupees annually remains unchanged. “Even when the airport is idle, the expenditure has not stopped. The infrastructure is ready, but it has not been put to commercial use,” Karna said. More than half a dozen five-star hotels, including more than

half a dozen five-star hotels, have come into operation in the Bhairahawa-Lumbini region in the expectation of the operation of the airport. Entrepreneurs had expected eight to 10 big aircraft to arrive daily. However, due to lack of regular flights, the return of investment has not been achieved.

Former Vice-Chairman of the National Planning Commission Dr. Govinda Pokharel said that the lack of return on investment made in the airport and hotel sector is a serious economic problem. He said that the operation of the airport should be seen not only as a problem of air service but should be linked to the overall regional economy.

Pokharel also presented the fact that there is a huge difference between the number of tourists visiting Lumbini and the expenditure they spend.

Quoting the World Bank’s project evaluation document, he said that 48,000 jobs are created annually from about 1.1 million tourists. According to him, one job is being created for every 23 tourists, compared to the national average of one job for every six tourists.

Pokharel said that the pilgrims coming to Lumbini spend only 15 US dollars on an average and most of the tourists return after spending a few hours. Stating that the expected economic benefits from tourism cannot be achieved only by increasing the number of tourists, he stressed the need to increase the duration of their stay and expenses. According to Karna, more than 11 lakh visitors visited Lumbini last year. Although the number of Nepali and Indian visitors decreased slightly, the number of tourists from countries other than Nepal and India had increased by more than a fourth.

Although the arrival of tourists from countries like Sri Lanka, Thailand and Myanmar with a majority of Buddhisms is positive, not being able to keep them in Nepal for long has become a challenge, he said.

According to him, about 90 percent of the international flights coming to Nepal come to Nepal through the Simara gateway in the east. Aircraft coming from the west have to cover an additional distance of about 300 kilometers to reach Bhairahawa. Nepal has been demanding more air entry routes since 2009, but no concrete decision has been taken. This has increased the fuel cost and operating cost of the airline.

He also said that consensus is needed on the issues related to the Indian territory to make the equipment and necessary technical management effective at the airport. He said that the lack of necessary health check-up, visa and labor permit services for the passengers going to foreign employment are also obstacles to the commercial operation of the airport. He pointed out that the Civil Aviation Authority being in both the role of regulator and operator and the delay in implementation of policy-level decisions related to aviation sector reform were also the reasons for the problem.

He suggested that the national flag carrier Nepal Airlines Corporation, charter flights and cargo services should be expanded for the operation of the airport. He also said that Lumbini should be connected to the markets of Buddhist countries like Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar and Vietnam.

Thakur Kumar Shrestha , president of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) Lumbini Province, said that the private sector has invested heavily in the assurance of the construction of the airport. He said that the businessmen who had invested in the assurance of the operation of the airport are now in crisis.

‘If this airport was not built, the private sector would not have taken such a big risk by investing so much. The state had assured them to invest but now they feel that they are in crisis,” Shrestha said.

Netra Prasad Acharya, president of Siddhartha Chamber of Commerce and Industry, complained that the government has not shown any interest in operating the airport despite repeated discussions and agitations. He said that the Nepal Airlines Corporation should be forced to operate regular flights from Bhairahawa or start international flights through diplomatic initiatives. Sachin Rokka, president of the Chamber of Commerce, Rupandehi, said that the economic development of Lumbini Province and Rupandehi would not pick up the expected pace until the airport was operated regularly. He complained that the government was not serious even when billions of rupees of private sector’s investment in the tourism sector was at risk.

Minister for Urban Development, Energy, Irrigation and Water Supply Santosh Kumar Pandey said that Lumbini should be developed as an international spiritual destination like Banaras of India. He said that the federal government should make special policy arrangements for the operation of the airport. The participants of the program stressed on the need to increase the stay and expenditure of tourists by connecting Lumbini, Tilaurakot, Devdaha and Ramgram in a single tourist circuit. Karna said that the World Bank has approved an assistance of 85 million US dollars for the Greater Lumbini Area Development Project and said that Lumbini should be developed as an international center of Buddhist philosophy, meditation, peace study and research.

According to him, the Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) is preparing to operate an aircraft based in Bhairahawa on the winter flight schedule. He also said that the government has taken diplomatic initiatives to attract more airlines.

But the question of when these plans will be implemented remains unanswered.

There is a lack of regular flights and a clear government action plan despite the investment of the private sector in the tourism sector and the faith of Buddhists from all over the world in Bhairahawa. The operation of Gautam Buddha International Airport has become a demand not only for Bhairahawa but also for Lumbini’s tourism and the overall national economy.