Nepal's Ministry of Finance has approved the use of a public-private partnership (PPP) model to operate Gautam Buddha International Airport (GBIA) in Bhairahawa, currently under construction. This was proposed by the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoCTCA) around six months ago.

Construction is scheduled to be completed in June 2019, after which Letters of Intent (LoI) will be requested from interested companies. The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) will operate the airport until the tender for the PPP contract is completed. 

The distribution of profit between the selected private airport operator and the Nepali Government will be discussed after receiving applications.

Gautam Buddha will also become Nepal’s second international airport. Critically, it will serve as an alternate international air transport point in the event of poor weather conditions or natural calamity shuts down the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), at present the only international airport in the country.