Chinese-built Pokhara Airport yet to receive any international flights: Report

Nearly five months since Beijing inaugurated the Pokhara International Airport (PIA) in Nepal under its Belt and Road initiative, the airport is yet to receive a single international flight. With the airport performing dismally and barely sustaining itself, questions are rising if it could be a debt trap by the Chinese side to corner Nepal.

Even before the airport was inaugurated for take off, troubles had started to mount. A day prior to the opening, the Chinese embassy in Kathmandu unilaterally announced that the Pokhara International Airport was a “flagship project of China-Nepal BRI cooperation”.

“This is the flagship project of China-Nepal BRI cooperation. Warmly congratulations to Nepali Gov and Nepali people!” the embassy said.

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The declaration riled up the Nepalese government with newly-appointed Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ expressing concerns over why and how this issue had surfaced at such a critical time.

Notably, former Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi had handed over the airport to the then Nepal prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, during a courtesy call held at Baluwatar last year.

Two weeks after the inauguration, the airport garnered international headlines yet againbut for all the wrong reasons. A Yeti Airlines twin-engine ATR 72 plane crashed, attempting a landing at the airport. Reportedly, the plane crashed on the bank of the Seti River between the old airport and the new airport.

There were 72 people onboard the plane, including two infants, four crew members and 10 foreign nationals. According to reports, 68died in the crash.

ALSO READ | Nepal plane crash: Pokhara International Airport was inaugurated two weeks ago, built with Chinese assistance

China's debt-trap?

According to The Annapurna Express, in March 2016, China's Exim Bank provided $215.96 million in a loan agreement for the construction of the airport, which is surrounded by the pristine Annapurna Mountain Range

In order to sustain itself, the airport should be conducting at least 100 daily domestic and 500 weekly international flights, according tothe Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN).

The airport has to pay $3.2 millionalone in annual interest for which it needs to have income in excess of $19 million when it operates at full potential. However, experts argue that even then, the airport would struggle to pay the installments on time.

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Bikram Raj Gautam, chief of PIA is still optimistic about pulling international flights to the airport. However, to avoid criticism, he suggests profit should not be calculated with the money airport makes.

"The construction of this airport cost around Rs 22bn. We won’t be able to make a profit instantly as it is a long-term investment. The profit of PIA should not only be calculated in terms of the airport’s earnings. But rather we should see how much help the airport provides in terms of services to passengers, small and large-scale tourism businesses and the development of Pokhara city, among other factors,"Gautam was quoted as saying by the publication.

(With inputs from agencies)

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