KATHMANDU: The Public Accounts Committee of the Federal Parliament has formed sub-committees to conduct a comprehensive study of the two new international airports in Bhairahawa and Pokhara.    

Chairperson of the committee Rishikesh Pokharel shared that two separate parliamentary sub-committees have been formed to study and Gautam Buddha International Airport located in Bhairahawa and the Pokhara International Airport.    

According to him, a 12-member sub-committee has been formed under the coordination of MP Rajendra Prasad Lingden, who is also the president of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party, to study the Pokhara International Airport, and an eight-member sub-committee has been formed under the coordination of MP and UML Secretary Yogesh Bhattarai to study the Gautam Buddha International Airport.    

The sub-committees will carry out on-site monitoring to study the two airports to review why the projects of national pride with huge investments are not able to give returns, said the secretary of the committee, Ekram Giri.

The Gautam Buddha International Airport was inaugurated on May 16, 2022, followed by Pokhara International Airport on January 1, 2023. To encourage international flights, the government announced a 100% discount on various fees for airlines flying from these airports for one year. However, this initiative has not succeeded in attracting regular international flights.

(With inputs from RSS)