KATHMANDU– As Pokhara International Airport, a national pride project of Nepal, was inaugurated yesterday, Nepali Prime Minister, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, laid emphasis on its contribution to national and regional development.
A Buddha Air flight carrying the prime minister, also known as Prachanda, was saluted with water cannon when it landed at the new airport.
“With this airport, Pokhara has become the centre of connectivity with many countries,” Prachanda said at the inauguration, which attracted hundreds of thousands of audience.
Pokhara is a popular tourist destination in central Nepal.
“Nobody will dispute the contribution of Pokhara International Airport to the economic development of the district, the metropolitan city and the whole nation, because of the enhanced connectivity established by this airport,” Prachanda said.
The Pokhara airport, a 4D-standard facility, was contracted with loan from the Export-Import Bank of China (China EXIM Bank), by China CAMC Engineering Co., Ltd., a company directly affiliated with China National Machinery Industry Corporation, which ranks among the top 500 enterprises in the world. The construction started in July, 2017.
“We also know the airport is vital for economic activities, social economic development and disaster relief,” remarked Tao Ma, regional director of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), Asia and Pacific Office.
“The successful completion of the airport is a great achievement of close cooperation between China and Nepal,” said Liu Shengcheng, vice president of China CAMC Co., Ltd.
“It is the day of realisation of a dream for the people of Pokhara,” noted Krishna Chandra Nepali Pokharel, the outgoing chief minister of Gandaki Province, where the new airport lies.
The new airport, the third international airport in Nepal, was designed and built on Chinese and ICAO standards, and is a good example of China and Nepal working together under the Belt and Road Initiative, said Wang Xin, charge d’affaires of the Chinese Embassy in Nepal.
Referring to the inauguration of the new airport, the recent border reopening between Nepal and China, and the start of the survey work on the cross-border railway, Prachanda said, “Big projects are being initiated with Chinese support.”
Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK