Kathmandu, December 16
Months-long renovation works at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, the only international airport in Kathmandu, have been over. The airport administration says the facility is now ready for operation for 21 hours a day.
For the past four months, the airport was shut for seven hours every night for the second phase of renovation. Previous to that, it would operate for 18 hours a day.
After completing the assignment, the contractor is handing over the renovated parts to the airport administration this evening.
The airport will launch the 21-hour operation on January 1, 2020, the day on which the government will launch the Visit Nepal Year 2020 campaign with an ambitious target of bringing in at least two million foreign tourists in one year.
Whereas the government had targeted operating the airport round the clock from this year, the airport officials say that it will not be possible anytime soon. “The equipment need rest for some time. We do not have alternative equipment,” an official says, “Hence, we are preparing for the 21-hour operation.”
