Nepal to GBIA Before ‘Buddhist Conference’ Commence

The Nepali Government is planning to commence operation of the Gautam Buddha International Airport (GBIA) before the 3^rd International Buddhist Conference.

The airport is planned to have 3,000m long runway and 16 international parking bays, and is being built with an aim to accommodate Boeing 777 and Airbus 330 series flights.

“The airport will facilitate delegates of the conference. We strongly believe that people coming for study and research will do better promotion of Nepal,” Tourism Minister Yogesh Bhattarai said during a press conference.

According to the government, the deadline for the completion of construction works of GBIA is March 31, 2020.

The Buddhist Conference will be organized on May 5-7, 2020 in Lumbini.

The Nepali Government has invited delegates from various countries for the upcoming international conference.

The delegates include:

• Gotabaya Rajapaksa – President of Sri Lanka
• Prayut Chan-o-cha – Prime Minister of Thailand
• Daw Suu Kyi – State Councilor of Myanmar
• Ban Ki-moon – Former Secretary General of the United Nations

Tourism Ministers from India, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Japan, South Korea, Bhutan, Mongolia, Malaysia, Singapore, Bangladesh, the US, the UK, Russia, Costa Rica, France and Germany will also take part in the conference.

The organizing committee has decided to celebrate the conference for a week by organizing various programs.

The conference will feature following programs:

• Cleaning of Lumbini, Bhairahawa, Kapilvbastu and Ramgram
• Blood donation
• Tree plantation
• Marathon

The Nepali Government has been organizing the International Buddhist Conference every two years since 2016.