The ministry had proposed to delineate an area of 80 sq km for the proposed second international airport with two runways. The SIA scheme envisions building a modern airport in Nijgadh, which is 175 km from Kathmandu, as an alternative to congestion and winter fog at Tribhuvan International Airport, the country’s sole aerial gateway.

The ministry officials said after the Cabinet nod, the airport’s name and boundary would be published in the Nepal Gazette.  More than 90 percent of the land proposed to be taken over for the project is forest land. Likewise, there are an estimated 1,450 squatters, including the landless, occupying the project site. The estimated cost for the first phase, as per the feasibility study, is $650 million.

The airport will be able to handle 15 million passengers annually and accommodate super jumbo Airbus 380 after first phase of construction.