Nepal\u2019s one of the most prestigious multi-billion projects to make Bhairahawa Airport an international airport<\/a> is most likely to be done by September 2019.<\/p>\n \u201cAs of now, the project has achieved 35 percent physical progress. We expect half of the tasks, or 50 percent physical progress, to be achieved by June-end,\u201d said Sanjiv Gautam, Director General, Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal<\/a> (CAAN).<\/p>\n Also known as Gautam Buddha Airport, this national pride project has missed several deadlines in the past and has been delayed for long due to various reasons.<\/p>\n With regard to this project, CAAN has allotted Rs 6.22 billion worth contract to a China\u2019s Northwest Civil Aviation<\/a> Airport Construction Group to upgrade the airport in November 2013, and was expected to be ready by December 2017.<\/p>\n However, infrastructure delays dragged the project upgradation activity by more than six months and eventually, the deadline was revised to June 2018.<\/p>\n After all these, the project financer Asian Development Bank (ADB) has finally set June 2019 as the last deadline for the completion of this prestigious project.<\/p>\n We have not received an official confirmation, but based on the project\u2019s progress, it looks like the ADB is also satisfied. An ADB<\/a> team made a site inspection in Bhairahawa this week to review the project\u2019s progress. The ADB is yet to submit a report,\u201d informed Gautam.<\/p>\n