KATHMANDU – I hope everyone shares my sentiments-when I landed at Pokhara International Airport a few days ago, I felt a deep sense of disappointment and dismay.
A struggling nation for development opportunities, having poured its scarce resources and immense ambition into building a crucial international airport, now watches it stand eerily abandoned-a stark symbol of wasted potential and neglected opportunity. However, the domestic airline operators are found exceptionally busy.
Nepal, already a least developed country with a poverty index of 20.1 percent in 2023, continues to grapple with limited GDP, production capacities and multiple structural constraints that severely hinder its economic prospects.
The nation remains critically underdeveloped in terms of infrastructure, a situation exacerbated by its landlocked geography and the geopolitical challenges of securing the connectivity and infrastructure it desperately needs. This struggle for connectivity was glaring as early as the 1960s when Nepal sought to establish road links with its northern border.
Will to optimizing the potential
Enhanced connectivity could have transformed Nepal’s tourism sector, offering a powerful counterbalance to the country’s limited industrial production capacity by generating revenue, creating employment opportunities, and paving the path toward self-reliance. Recognizing this potential, Nepal prioritized connectivity under China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), though the agreement signed in May 2017 remains largely unfulfilled.
The vision of expanding Pokhara’s airport into an international hub was conceived nearly 50 years ago with a long-term land acquisition action plan. However, the construction process only began four decades later. Finally, with financial support from China’s EXIM Bank, the long-held dream of establishing Pokhara International Airport (PIA) was realized on January 1, 2023.
Pokhara, a city celebrated for its three stunning lakes and majestic green mountains, stands as a unique tourist destination in central Nepal. Renowned as the gateway to the Annapurna Circuit, the city offers breathtaking views of snow-capped peaks, including Machapuchhre and three peaks above 8,000 meters—Dhaulagiri, Manaslu, and Annapurna. For decades, local residents and entrepreneurs envisioned an international airport that could exponentially boost the region’s tourism industry.
In the 1960s, Swiss geologist and Nepal enthusiast Tony Hagen famously described Pokhara as a paradise. Data shows that 60% of foreign trekkers visiting Nepal explore the Annapurna Conservation Area, and 40% inevitably visit Pokhara. The city’s extraordinary natural beauty makes it an essential stop for tourists, underscoring the need for direct international air connectivity.
Pokhara International Airport, constructed on ICAO’s 4D model standards, features a 45-meter-wide and 2,500-meter-long runway and is equipped to serve 1 million passengers annually. China EXIM Bank provided a $215.96 million loan (approximately NPR 22 billion) for its construction.
The inauguration of PIA sparked excitement among Pokhara’s tourism entrepreneurs, who hoped the airport would catalyze economic and social transformation. The Chinese Embassy in Nepal congratulated the Nepali government and people, emphasizing the airport’s significance as a major Nepal-China BRI cooperation project. Nepal’s government asserted that PIA was not part of the BRI framework.
Challenges and Constraints
No one knows the reason why the international airlines have shown limited interest in using the airport, except with only a few chartered flights from China and one from Bhutan operating so far. Nonetheless, Chinese airline have been positively inclined to support this airport operational.
A primary obstacle to PIA’s international operations is the lack of approved air routes over neighboring countries, particularly India. Despite ongoing negotiations since 2014, Nepal has yet to secure new air routes from Mahendranagar to Pokhara. This severely limits the feasibility of direct flights from key international hubs, discouraging airlines from initiating services.
Operational challenges of handling International flights also pose significant hurdles. The airport’s ground handling capacity and the financial investment required for airline companies to establish operations remain daunting. Moreover, the loan from China has sparked concerns about the airport’s financial sustainability, especially given the absence of regular international flights to generate sufficient revenue for loan repayment. There is growing apprehension that PIA could become a financial burden, reminiscent of potential debt-laden infrastructure projects under the BRI.
Geopolitical Tensions and Feasibility
India’s reluctance to support Chinese-funded projects in Nepal further complicates many of such initiatives. When one Nepali airline company requested to initiate its service to Indian cities from Pokhara it was not approved. Reports of some Indian ex diplomats who had served in Nepal making critical remarks about the airport highlight the geopolitical tensions influencing regional infrastructure development. Nepal is provided only an air entry point over Simara in central Nepal. Consequently, the significant difficulty obtaining additional entry points into Indian airspace for international flights to and from Pokhara has exacerbated the problem. In addition, the logistical aspect the airline company would incur is cannot be understated.
Path Forward
In December 2024, during Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s visit to Beijing , Nepal and China signed a framework agreement to advance BRI projects. This agreement aims to rejuvenate stalled initiatives and improve connectivity, potentially enhancing the airport’s operational prospects. Both nations have affirmed their commitment to support the air transport industry, pledging to open air routes and launch flights connecting Pokhara and Lumbini with Chinese cities based on market demand. As many tourists would prefer to have a direct air travel to Pokhara the prospect of its operationalizing rests on the foreign airline companies for which the government must pursue relentlessly.
To realize PIA’s full potential, the government of Nepal must prioritize infrastructure development, offer incentives for foreign airlines, and streamline visa policies for international tourists. Aligning Pokhara’s tourism growth with regional development plans could create a broader economic impact, ensuring the airport’s long-term viability.
Moreover, China’s decision to launch ‘Visit Nepal 2025’ to promote Chinese tourism in Nepal is much appreciating and presents a unique opportunity to strengthen air connectivity between Pokhara and various Chinese cities. If leveraged effectively, this initiative could mark a significant step toward transforming PIA into a thriving international gateway.
The new air entry point from India into Nepal also matters much. Therefore, the most crucial question is how much our neighbors truly desire to see Nepal prosper.
Sharma is a retired Brigadier General and former spokesperson of the Nepali Army.
