By Laxman Poudel

Bhairahawa, Apr. 10: At a time when most of the construction projects across the country have been halted due to the nationwide lockdown enforced to fight against COVID-19, construction work of Gautam Buddha International Airport (GBIA) in Bhairahawa is in progress at a fast pace.
Though some important equipment and technicians of the project have been stranded in China due to the lockdown, some Chinese and Nepali workers are continuing their works in the project after the decision of the government to resume works of large and national pride projects.
Around 80 workers including 28 Chinese technicians and workers available at the camp of the project are continuing the works round the clock inside the project premises, said Prabesh Adhikari, chief of the GBIA.
More than 200 workers were working in the project before the lockdown.
Currently, various works including fixing lights in old runway, finishing of terminal building, installation of central AC, tile setting and fencing are in progress, he said.
However, transportation of very important equipment from China to be installed in airport has been impossible due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he said.
Earlier, the Chinese government obstructed the transport of necessary equipment to Nepal due to the spread of coronavirus there and now it has been obstructed due to the closure of Rasuwagadi entry point.
Besides, around 20 Chinese technicians of the project who had returned home to celebrate their New Year have also been trapped there due to the pandemic.
Adhikari said that the project has yet to complete around 10 per cent works related to physical infrastructure. Of the total 6 per cent is related to installation of equipment and 4 per cent is other construction works, he said.
“After the decision of the government to continue works of national pride projects, we are continuing possible works from available human resources and materials considering the safety and security of the workers,” he said.
“We are coordinating with chief district officer and district police officer while continuing the project works as per the direction of the government,” Adhikari said.
With the postponement of project completion deadline of GBIA, the cost of the project is also likely to increase, he said. The project cost was estimated to be Rs 6.82 billion excluding the cost of land pooling.
For the development of the project, Asian Development Bank (ADB) is providing 40.5 per cent loan and 18 per cent grant. The project will have a solar plant of 10 MW capacity through the grant of ADB.