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.

The post Nepal to GBIA Before ‘Buddhist Conference’ Commence appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

The President said this while addressing the 14th Anniversary of Lumbini Buddhist University in Butwal on December 09, 2018.

Bhandari called for completion of GBIA at the earliest possible so as to promote Lumbini’s tourism potential and also for overall development of Nepal tourism industry.

“I request the government to work in cooperation with the local community and the private sector for the development of tourism industry in the country,” reads the President’s statement.

She also urged for the early development of Ramagram & Devdaha of Nawalparasi and Tilaurakot of Kapilvastu as key to the tourism development under master plan for Lumbini.

Bhandari said linking of Lumbini with other tourism destinations and forming a Buddhist tourist circuit are very important for the country.

On the occasion, the President also highlighted the need for development of LBU into a world-class academic institution for spreading the message of peace and harmony.

“This university should not be limited on investigation and promotion of knowledge created during the Buddhist era. But this university also needs to bring new knowledge and information in the world,” said Bhandari.

In his address, Tourism Minister Rabindra Adhikari urged the University should expand its academic portfolio to cover subjects like Hotel Management, Travel & Tourism and Buddhist education.

“The cabinet has taken a decision of providing five percent income of Lumbini Development Fund to the university. Government will introduce major plans for the development of the university in coming days,” said Adhikari.

“Construction of the Buddhist circuit will surely contribute toward broader development of Lumbini,” said Adhikari, informing that the remaining 30 percent task under Lumbini master plan will be completed in three years.

With regard to GBIA, the Minister said that the airport will come into full operation within the coming nine months, within which the upgradation of Lumbini roads are also expected to be completed.

The post President Calls for Fast-Track Progress on Lumbini Development appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

With various infrastructure projects pending across the country, the Nepal Tourism Ministry has postponed its Visit Nepal Year 2018 Campaign to 2020 that targets at attracting 1.5 million tourists.

The Ministry cited low pace of road and airport upgradation projects, reconstruction of historical monuments and cultural heritage sites as the reasons for postponement.

“As we had little time to make preparations for the national campaign, we have decided to reschedule it. However, the ministry will launch a massive marketing campaign in 2019 before starting Visit Nepal Year 2020,” says Ghanshyam Upadhyaya, Tourism Ministry Spokesperson.

Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) and Lumbini’s Gautam Buddha International Airport (GBIA) are among two infrastructure projects that were deferred until 2019.

While the USD 92 million TIA upgradation project was slated for completion in 2016, GBIA was planned for completion in December 2017. These two projects are getting delayed because of payment and contractor related issues.

Other projects include upgradation of airport in Bhairahawa, the gateway to the pilgrimage destination of Lumbini in south central Nepal, expansion of the Narayanghat-Mugling road, Kathmandu Ring Road Improvement Project and the reconstruction of monuments & heritage sites damaged in the 2015 earthquake.

Nepal is also witnessing a lot of hotel construction activity, which is expected to add 4,000 star category rooms to the country by 2020. A dozen hotels are investing more than Rs 40 billion in the industry.

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