January 15: The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has decided to manage four international airports on a public-private-partnership (PPP) model.

A meeting of the board of directors of the aviation sector regulator decided to operate and expand the three existing international airports and the proposed Nijgadh International Airport under this concept.

CAAN Spokesperson Jagannath Niraula informed New Business Age that the proposal in this regard has been sent to the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation for further discussion and necessary action regarding the operation and expansion of Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), Gautam Buddha International Airport (GBIA) and Pokhara Regional International Airport (PRIA) and the construction of the proposed Nijgadh International Airport.

While unveiling the progress report after completing one year in office on December 26, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal had announced that the government was planning to operate the international airports on the same concept. Now, the CAAN has taken concrete steps to seek partners for the operation and management of the airports under this concept.

Tribhuvan International Airport is the first international airport of the country. Gautam Buddha International Airport was inaugurated on May 16, 2022 while the Pokhara Regional International Airport came into operation from January 1, 2023.

Although there are three international airports in the country, only the TIA is fully operational while the other two are under-utilized due to various reasons.

As the GBIA and PRIA are still not fully operational even after one and a half years of operation, the government is planning to operate all the international airports under the PPP concept through a single package. The CAAN is hopeful that if Tribhuvan International Airport, which makes the highest income, is also included in the package, it will be able to bring in a partner for the management of the airports.