China's Northwest Civil Aviation Airport Construction Group has bagged the contract to upgrade Nepal's Gautam Buddha Airport in Bhairahawa.
This was disclosed by the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN).
The upgraded regional international airport will become operational by the end of 2017.
CAAN Director General Ratish Chandra Lal Suman and General Manager of Northwest's Overseas Department Zhou Zun signed the Rs 6.22 billion civil works deal, reports Kantipur Online.
According to CAAN, the Chinese contractor emerged as the lowest bidder during a final review of financial documents by Asian Development Bank (ADB), the major financer of the project.
CAAN has estimated the project cost at Rs 6.30 billion.
The planned airport will have a 3,000-metre runway and a capacity to serve 760,000 passengers annually after the completion of the first phase of upgradation.
Apart from upgrading the existing runway, the Chinese firm will reconstruct exit and parallel taxiways with flexible pavements, construct a new international aircraft parking apron with rigid pavements, convert one runway into a parallel taxiway, create a drainage system parallel to the runway, taxiway and diversion of the Ghaghara Khola and airport boundary, among others.
China Harbour Engineering Company and a Nepali-Spanish joint venture Sanjose-Kalika were the second and third lowest bidders, quoting Rs 6.40 billion and Rs 6.68 billion respectively.
