New International Airport

The only lasting image that Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) is able to leave behind in everyone’s mind who sets foot inside it is that it is too archaic. And rightly so. TIA is far from what modern airports around the world are. Everything from the arrival to the departure lounge to the luggage carousel unfailingly gives the impression that the airport is stuck in a time warp. Amid such a state of the country’s only international airport, it is a delight to learn that a Korean company entrusted with the task of finalizing a detailed feasibility study has finalized its report in which it says a new international airport at the designated area in Nijgadh of Bara district is possible in four years, provided the government allocates Rs 42 billion for it. There is no reason why the government should not.



An airport is the first place of a country from where visiting tourists start forming an impression of the country. TIA has been doing a shoddy job on that front, for too long. Here is a project that gives an opportunity to rectify that and that is enough reason to get us excited about it. That, however, is not the only reason why a new international airport has become an urgent necessity. Plenty of other reasons abound.



First, the flow of tourists is definitely not going to remain static in the coming years. Tourist arrivals are bound to go up as the situation on the political front gradually normalizes. Nepal, is simply too beautiful to escape the radar of millions of wannabe travelers. When tourist arrivals start climbing sharply, TIA will surely not be able to handle the increased number of flights considering that it is located almost in the middle of the capital city and the room for expansion is limited. Thus, it makes perfect sense to aggressively start working toward building the new airport that is at a convenient distance from the capital.



Investing in building infrastructure has many other spin-off effects as well. Besides doing wonders to the local economy once the airport becomes functional, it can provide employment opportunities to thousands of Nepalis during the construction phase. This can be one exemplary project to keep many disgruntled young men and women from flying to foreign shores for employment.



Considering that the construction of the new airport will place us in a win-win situation, we urge the government to move ahead by keeping the project in its priority list. While mobilizing the money and getting the nod of every political stakeholder at a time when politics is deeply fragmented is easier said than done, we sincerely hope that things will move ahead quickly. However, even when we talk about a new international airport, let us not forget to upgrade TIA which will concurrently continue to remain a vital linkage between Nepal and the world outside for many more years to come.

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