Nepal Crash: Pokhara Airport’s Chinese Connection; Was Inaugurated 2 Weeks back

The Pokhara International Airport, near which the Yeti Airlines plane with 72 people onboard crashed on Sunday, was built with Chinese assistance. It was inaugurated two weeks ago by Nepal’s newly-appointed Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’. The new Nepalese PM is well known for his leniency towards China.

The Pokhara International Airport was officially inaugurated on January 1. This airport project was taken up under China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) cooperation.

In 2022, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi had handed over the Pokhara International Airport to the then Nepal Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba.

In 2016, the Nepal government entered into a loan agreement with China for the construction of the Pokhara Airport, reported Kathmandu Post.

While landing at the Pokhara airport around 11 am on Sunday, the Yeti Airlines aircraft crashed on the bank of the Seti River. There were a total of 68 passengers and four crew members. Five of these passengers were Indians.