NAC to get two more jets in three months

Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation Hisila Yami said the government was preparing to lease at least two jetliners for Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) within three months in a bid to boost the national flag carrier's capacity.
Yami added her ministry had also formed a committee to recommend to the government measures to revive the troubled state-owned airline.

"The committee will submit its report to the ministry on Oct. 21 which will then take the necessary steps to lease and purchase the aircraft after studying the report," Yami said at an interaction at the Reporters' Club Sunday.

The government has already announced through the recent budget speech that it would stand guarantee for the purpose of

purchasing two new

aircraft for NAC which presently possesses one lone Boeing for its international service.

"We will obtain at least two aircraft -- Boeings or Airbuses -- on dry or wet lease basis within three months to cover the time it takes to procure new jets," she added.

She revealed that at least two years would be needed to complete the process of purchasing new aircraft.

She said the ministry was pushing ahead with the preparation of a tourism policy under the concept of public-private partnership.

"Some legal provisions which appear as barriers to the development of tourism have not been amended since 1996," she said, adding that the ministry was doing homework to review the existing legal predicaments.

Yami said that the ministry had set up a separate division to oversee the development of tourism infrastructure and allocated Rs. 280 million for the purpose.

She also emphasized promoting "home stay tourism" in rural parts of the country -- a concept to accommodate visitors in private homes and expose them to the rich local indigenous culture.

Prashiddha Bahadur Pandey, president of Hotel Association Nepal, claimed that the number of tourists could be increased by at least 20-30 percent if NAC was provided three additional aircraft for international service and the frequency of international flights augmented by installing night landing facility at Kathmandu airport.

He also suggested that Visit Nepal Year 2011 be utilized to create a tourism revolution in Nepal by accomplishing the target of bringing at least one million tourists into the country annually.