Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has demanded a clear plan from the concerned ministries to bring Pokhara and Gautam Buddha International Airports into full operation. This directive came during a discussion with ministers, secretaries, and high-ranking officials at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers in Singha Durbar.
During the meeting, Prime Minister Oli emphasized the need to manage the current flight and passenger load at Tribhuvan International Airport by fully operationalizing the two new airports. He highlighted the prolonged underutilization of these airports, which has resulted in financial losses, and urged immediate facilitation to address this issue.
Prime Minister Oli instructed the officials to address various operational challenges to ensure the effective functioning of both airports. This includes operationalizing immigration and other facilities, relocating aviation fuel storage away from airport premises if needed, reducing aviation fuel prices, exempting value-added tax and tourism tax, and assigning ground handling services to the appropriate entities as per regulations.
Following the discussion, a task force led by Secretary Rajkumar Shrestha of the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, comprising joint secretaries from all relevant ministries, was assigned the responsibility of developing an operational plan for the airports. This plan is to be presented at the next Cabinet meeting.
The discussion was attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Paudel, Foreign Minister Arzu Rana Deuba, Minister of Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation Badri Prasad Pandey, Minister of Labor and Employment Sarad Singh Bhandari, Chief Advisor to the Prime Minister Bishnu Rimal, Economic Affairs Advisor Dr. Yubaraj Khatiwada, Chief Secretary of the Government of Nepal Lila Devi Gadtaula, and Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister Rajesh Bajracharya, among others.
