Government plans private sector collaboration for Pokhara airport operation

The government has included significant plans for Gandaki Province in the budget and program for the upcoming fiscal year 2083/84, unveiled on Friday. Finance Minister Dr. Swarnim Wagle presented the budget at the joint session of the federal Parliament, incorporating programs ranging from major infrastructure projects to tourism promotion in the region.

Minister Wagle stated that the management and operation of Pokhara International Airport, which has not yet commenced regular international flights despite being completed years ago, will involve collaboration with the private sector. He mentioned that the 1,200 MW Budhigandaki Reservoir Hydropower Project will be advanced under an empowered authority model.

The budget outlines financial arrangements for the much-discussed Uttarganga Reservoir Hydropower Project in Baglung, with the tender process set to begin. The 40 MW Rahughat Hydropower Project in Myagdi is slated for completion within this fiscal year. Minister Wagle also indicated that the construction of the Tanahun Reservoir Hydropower Project will be expedited.

The Prithvi Highway section connecting Kathmandu to the tourist capital Pokhara, specifically the Muglin–Damauli–Pokhara segment, will be completed promptly, he said. The budget also mentions the initiation of transforming the Siddhartha Highway to international standards and developing the Kali Gandaki civilization’s origin area into a pilgrimage and clean-enterprise-focused ‘Gandaki Quadrangle’. Minister Wagle announced plans to develop the ‘Shaligram Path’ by integrating Trivenidham, Devghat, Ruru area, Kagbeni, Muktinath, and Damodar Kunda.

The ‘Nirvana Path’, based on the Lumbini–Muktinath religious-cultural route, will be promoted, integrating meditation, yoga, Buddhist-Vedic philosophy, and the Himalayan cultural experiences of Mustang, Manang, and Myagdi. The assets and liabilities of the Gorkhakali Rubber Industry in Gorkha will be evaluated, and investment management will be completed through a public-private partnership model by next year, according to Minister Wagle.

The budget mentions the initiation of e-mobility services to replace public buses with electric buses in the Pokhara Valley. The construction of the Butwal–Pokhara section of the Siddhartha Highway as an expressway will commence.

The four-lane road from Aanbukhaireni to Pokhara under the Prithvi Highway will be completed soon, and the Aanbukhaireni–Muglin road construction will begin, Minister Wagle stated.

The ‘Danphe Route’, a high-altitude eco-tourism trail connecting Khaptad–Ramaroshan–Badimalika–Budhinanda–Rara–Swargadwari to Muktinath, will be developed, he said.

Additionally, trails connecting Api Himal, Dordi Himal, and Sikles–Kahupuche–Manang will be developed. For cycling trails, routes from Lipeni–Thumsikot–Bhachok–Lamteri (via Prince Charles Route to Karapu) in Kaski and Byas–Chhabdi Barahi–Bandipur–Chhimkeswori–Labdi–Devghat will be constructed, as mentioned in the budget.

Minister Wagle announced the construction of indoor multipurpose stadiums with a capacity of 2,000 in cities including Pokhara, Kathmandu, and Biratnagar within three years. The Ayurveda hospital in Pokhara, which includes natural and alternative medicine, will be operationalized, linking Ayurveda and natural medicine to health tourism.

Special projects will be implemented for the conservation of historical monasteries in Mustang and Manang, as noted in the budget. A provincial tourism corridor connecting Devghat–Muktinath–Tilicho will be constructed, Minister Wagle stated.