TIA mulls collecting Rs 1,000 as airport development charge
KATHMANDU, NOV 23 -
Travellers may have to shell out more money for the privilege of flying out of Tribhuvan International Airport ( TIA ).
The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has proposed charging Rs 1,000 per passenger on top of the Rs 1,130 presently being levied as passenger service charge on international flights (Rs 791 for South Asians).
CAAN has sent its proposal to collect the sum as airport development charge to its line ministry, the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoCTCA). The MoCTCA has passed the buck to the Finance Ministry which is thinking about it, government officials said. On April 21, the CAAN board had approved charging travellers departing from TIA a development fee to raise funds to repay its loans and finance the ongoing improvement project.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has provided the government of Nepal a loan of US$ 70 million and a grant of US$ 10 million to implement Priority 1A tasks under the first phase of the TIA Master Plan 2026. The project aims to improve the capacity of air transport and flight safety at TIA .
"The idea is to make TIA sustainable by repaying its loans and settling expenses," said an MoCTCA official. As per CAAN's business proposal, it expects to raise more than Rs 7 billion from outbound travellers in five years. The projection is based on present passenger movement and expected future growth. In 2011, outbound travellers from TIA numbered more than 1.4 million. CAAN has projected 7 million inbound and outbound passengers via international carriers in five years.
CAAN said that the tax has been in practice in most countries, and that newly constructed international airports in India in particular have imposed an airport development fee.
Travel trade entrepreneurs said that imposing an airport development fee would not have a significant impact on travellers. They added that if the move is intended to improve the existing facilities at TIA , there is no reason to be concerned about it. "For price-conscious travellers, it will be a big deal even if Rs 100 is charged, but there is no reason to be upset if the initiative has been taken to improve facilities," said Shyam Raj Thapaliya, managing director of Osho World Travel Nepal.
In the last fiscal year, TIA 's total revenue jumped 13 percent to Rs 3.1 billion. Helped by the growth in revenue and clearance of all cumulative losses, CAAN earned a net profit of Rs 290 million in the last fiscal year.
International passenger traffic has shown double-digit growth during the past 10 years (except in 2005 when it was 9.7 percent). The highest growth of 20.2 percent occurred in 2010. According to TIA statistics, passenger volume in the six months of 2012 reached 1.43 million, up 11.63 percent year on year.
TIA handled 2.7 million travellers in 2011, and it is projected to cross 3.91 million by 2015. Passenger traffic movements at TIA including domestic and international flights crossed 4.28 million in 2011, and it is forecast to reach 5.85 million by 2015 and 9.31 million by 2028.
Source: The Kathmandu Post
