Pokhara International Airportपोखरा अन्तर्राष्ट्रिय विमानस्थल

Pokhara International Airport was the geopolitical project among Nepal's new gateways: built by China CAMC Engineering between 2017 and 2021, physically complete in March 2022, opened with fanfare on New Year's Day 2023, and claimed by Beijing as a Belt and Road showcase — a label Nepal disputes. Two weeks after the opening, on 15 January 2023, Yeti Airlines Flight 691 from Kathmandu crashed on approach, killing all 72 aboard — Nepal's deadliest crash since 1992; the investigation found the crew had inadvertently feathered both propellers.

The financing is the heart of the story. China Exim Bank lent US$215.96 million under a 2016 agreement: 25% interest-free, 2% interest on the remainder, a 20-year tenure with a 7-year grace period. Nepal's government then on-lent the funds to CAAN at 5%, inflating the effective burden on the airport's operator.

By mid-2025 the runway was nearly empty: the only scheduled international service has been a weekly Himalaya Airlines Pokhara–Lhasa flight plus occasional charters, with estimates putting CAAN's losses around US$4 million a month against roughly US$3.2 million in annual interest. A Public Accounts Committee probe in April 2025 flagged irregularities of about Rs 14 billion (~US$105 million), including unauthorised tax exemptions for the contractor. Nepal has formally asked China to convert the loan into a grant; China has not agreed.

Both new international airports share a structural problem: India has not granted convenient cross-border approach routes, and airlines see no demand to bypass Kathmandu — so Tribhuvan still carries virtually all international traffic while Pokhara repays a construction loan with one weekly flight.