Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoTCA) received not a single application from the private sector to operate international airline within the given timeframe, Birendra Kumar Singh, under secretary at MoTCA, said. [break]
The ministry had invited proposals from private sector to operate international flights on Class A routes, which includes flight of duration more than 2 hours.
Industry people said investors were not interested in the government´s call as the investment climate in the country is not so encouraging.
“Airline business is very competitive and needs a huge investment. Nepali investors can´t start international airlines on their own,” said Siddhartha B Thapa, Director of President Group of Companies, which holds GSA of many international airlines.
MoTCA had sought proposals from interested parties for the third time from May 17 to July 3. It had received proposals from the private sector to operate international flights only on Class B and Class C routes in its second call in mid-January.
The government had selected Yeti Airlines to operate international flights in the first call. Yeti operated international flights for some time under the brand of flyyeti.com. The ministry selected four airlines -- Buddha Air, Shree Air, Unity Airlines and Dynamic Air -- to operate international flights in the second call.
Companies with experience of five years in domestic aviation and having paid-up capital of Rs 500 million and five aircraft was the criteria set for domestic airlines to participate in proposal. New companies with paid-up capital of Rs 500 million were also eligible to apply.
The government plans to award license to three companies, including one focusing on cargo operations.
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