Modnath Dhakal

The Gautam Buddha International Airport (GBIA) in Bhairahawa has become the latest case of Nepal's failure in infrastructure development as the project is delayed by four years. The key infrastructure at the entry point of Lumbini, the birthplace of Lord Buddha, was supposed to be ready to serve tourists during Visit Nepal Year 2020. However, December 2019 was not the deadline of the airport, it was extended twice before that.

The upgradation work at the airport had started in January 2015, and it was supposed to be completed by the end of 2017. But the facility has witnessed additional deadline extensions citing a shortage of construction materials, delay in the shipment of equipment from China, and even the obstruction of customs clearance of the imported equipment. When COVID-19 struck, the contractor and managers got a new excuse as the number of workers at the site was reduced drastically and Chinese workers couldn't return to the work. However, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) couldn't meet its own deadline extended to December 2020 in July that year.

Strategic location
The GBIA is strategically located at the one of the world's most important pilgrimage sites. It is at a vital border entry point and major trade route for the goods from India and third countries to Nepal. It could also have the opportunity to cater its services to the Indian nationals at the cities across the border since they do not need visa to come to Nepal or make it a transition point.
But across the border in Kushinagar, about 140-km away from Bhairahawa, India has completed the construction of an international airport. It was inaugurated a couple of weeks ago. Started in 2015, the construction of Kushinagar airport was completed last month. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated it on 20 October, on the occasion of Abhidhamma Day celebrations in Kushinagar. India brought a group of Buddhist monks and tourists to the pilgrimage site from Sri Lanka on the occasion.

India is planning a fresh branding of Kushinagar for the Buddhist pilgrims as well as the world, else it doesn't need an airport since there is another facility just 52-km away in Gorakhpur. Gautam Buddha attained Mahaparinirvna in Kushinagar so it is considered an important site after Lumbini, his birthplace. Other two important places are Bodh Gaya where Buddha attained enlightenment and Sarnath where he delivered his first sermon.

The inactiveness and inefficiency on the part of CAAN and other government agencies in Nepal could make the GBIA a missed opportunity. There are chances that by the time Nepal completes its pride project in Bhairahawa, Kushinagar Airport would be branded as a gateway to all four Buddhist pilgrimage sites. Since three of the sites are in India and it has a web of international flight services to the major cities across the world, the southern neighbour need not put much effort in its branding. Likewise, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh have the combined population of 300 million, about two-thirds of equivalent of the European Union, which make the airport economically viable as well.

Tourism entrepreneurs in Bhairahawa, and Lumbini Province, are worried that the delay in the completion of the GBIA is going to benefit India and they will lose tourists and business for short- and long-terms. Most of third-country tourists visiting Lumbini take the Indian route and enter Bhairahawa while the new airport was supposed to bring them directly to Nepal. Had the GBIA completed in time, tourists visiting the Buddhist Circuit, which covers all four important pilgrimage sites in Nepal and India, could have come to Lumbini before going to Bodh Gaya and Kushinagar. It could have not only helped to create an influx of tourists into Nepal but also the sites like Kapilvastu, Buddha's home, Devdaha, his maternal uncle's home, Ramgram and many other pilgrimage sites could have been promoted.

In addition, lying just 60-km north from Bhairahawa, Tansen, a hill station in Lumbini Province, attracts thousands of domestic and foreign tourists every year. When Bihar and UP are under the scorching heat with mercury hovering around 44-45 degree Celsius during the summer, Tansen welcomes tourists at around 22-25 degree Celsius. Further away, Resunga in Tamghas of Gulmi, Ruru pilgrimage site, Kaligandaki-A Hydroelectricity Project between Gulmi and Syangja and Triveni of Nawalparasi have the potential to attract hundreds of thousands of tourists. The timely completion and promotion of tourism sites in and around Lumbini could have benefited travel and tour operators, hotels and hospitality business, handicraft business and farmers, thus, would have made an important contribution to the economy of the province and the country.

The Asian Development Bank in 2013 had estimated that about 1.6 million tourists would visit Lumbini, including 468,000 foreigners, in 2020 which is two-fold compared to the visitors in 2012. Likewise, Bhairahawa was expected to witness 161,126 tourists without the project, and 259,982 tourists with it. By 2030, it would attract 1.02 million tourists.

Cost overrun
It is sad to know that the Rs. 31 billion project was never under the pressure of financial resources but witnessed multiple time and cost overrun. While the CAAN presents the COVID-19 pandemic as the main reason behind the failure in completing the project in time, it was unable to prepare and implement action plan to get it ready in time. The project that was being prepared as one of the key products and infrastructures for VNY-2020 is not ready even in two years since then. Another gloomy part is that no one is held responsible for the delay in the construction and additional burden it incurred to the state coffers.

(Dhakal is a journalist at TRN. @ModDhakal)