Nepal Govt issues EoI for international airport in Nijgadh

A long-planned project to build an international airport in Nijgadh has finally been set in motion with the Government deciding to invite expressions of interest (EoI) from global firms to build the infrastructure. The project will be developed under the build, own, operate and transfer (BOOT) model. But the Government has kept its options open to construct the airport on its own by setting up a separate company if the EoI call fails to attract foreign bidders, according to Tourism Minister Rabindra Adhikari. At least 40 foreign investors already have expressed interest to build the modern international airport in Nijgadh, Bara district, indicating that a stable government seems to have had an impact on the country’s business climate, Tourism Minister Rabindra Adhikari said. “The investor interest seems to be based primarily on the hope that Nepal is now strong and stable. Now, we cannot delay the project construction,” said Minister Adhikari. “We are almost clear on the airport modality. The Government won’t inject funds in developing the airport, but we will take on board private investors.” The London-based company WGP Global, in conjunction with its project partner Uniel Holdings, has expressed an interest to lead a team to design, construct, finance, and manage the project. Similarly, the Malaysian government had proposed implementing a fully-financed construction of the airport under a ‘design, finance, build, operate and transfer’ (DFBOT) model through a government-to-government deal. Earlier, Landmark Worldwide Company (LMW) of Korea had proposed to develop the project. The Government had awarded a detailed feasibility study (DFS) contract to the company in March 2010. 
LMW’s report has proposed constructing the airport under the ‘build-own-operate-transfer’ (BOOT) model. In July 2015, a four-member delegation from the Airport Authority of India (AAI) inspected the planned site in Nijgadh. The visiting delegation had informed Nepali government officials that they were ready to invest in the project, either through the private sector or government funding or both. The CAAN has estimated the airport will cost USD 1.21 billion, excluding the proposed airport city. CAAN said the airport would be able to handle 20 million passengers annually in the first phase. The proposal envisions building a modern airport in Nijgadh, 175 km from Kathmandu in the southern plains, as an alternative to congestion and winter fog at Tribhuvan International. The airport will spread over 80 km², which will make it the biggest in South Asia in terms of area. Minister Adhikari said the environmental impact assessment (EIA) report of the project is expected to be approved by the Environment Ministry shortly. After that the Nepal Army will be authorised to cut down trees. In September 2017, the Government had formally assigned the Nepal Army to build access and perimeter roads and clear trees at the proposed construction site in Nijgadh. More than 2.4 million trees, including nearly 600,000 big trees, will have to be felled to build the modern international airport. The Government has a binding rule that the project’s executing agency should plant 25 saplings for every tree cut. The Government had announced inviting tenders for building the airport while presenting the budget statement for fiscal 2017-18 to Parliament. However, the modality of the project has been changing along with changes in Government, causing delays. Successive administrations have put forward opposing plans that the airport should be developed through private or public financing. Basically, the Government has proposed two modalities for building the new airport in Bara. The Ministry of Culture, Tourism & Civil Aviation (MoCTCA) has proposed to develop the second international airport either under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model or the Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Finance (EPCF) model. MoCTCA Secretary Maheshwor Neupane said that the proposed construction modality of Nijgadh Airport has been sent to Ministry of Finance (MoF) and National Planning Commission (NPC) for approval. #1080.3