KATHMANDU, Jan. 1 (Xinhua) -- As Pokhara International Airport, a national pride project of Nepal, was inaugurated on Sunday, Nepali Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal laid emphasis on its contribution to national and regional development.

A Buddha Air flight carrying the prime minister, also known as Prachanda, was saluted with water cannon when it landed at the new airport.

"With this airport, Pokhara has become the center of connectivity with many countries," Prachanda said at the inauguration ceremony which attracted hundreds of thousands of audience.

Pokhara is a popular tourist destination in central Nepal.

"Nobody will dispute the contribution of Pokhara International Airport to the economic development of the district, the metropolitan city and the whole nation, because of the enhanced connectivity established by this airport," Prachanda said.

The Pokhara airport, a 4D-standard facility, was contracted with loan from the Export-Import Bank of China (China EXIM Bank) by China CAMC Engineering Co., Ltd., a company directly affiliated with China National Machinery Industry Corporation which ranks among the top 500 enterprises in the world. The construction started in July 2017.

"We also know the airport is vital for economic activities, social economic development and disaster relief," remarked Tao Ma, regional director of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Asia and Pacific Office.

"The successful completion of the airport project is a great achievement of close cooperation between China and Nepal," said Liu Shengcheng, vice president of China CAMC Engineering Co., Ltd.

"It is the day of realization of a dream for the people of Pokhara," noted Krishna Chandra Nepali Pokharel, the outgoing chief minister of the Gandaki Province, where the new airport lies.

The new airport in Pokhara, the third international airport in Nepal, was designed and built on Chinese and ICAO standards, and it is a good example of China and Nepal working together under the Belt and Road Initiative, said Wang Xin, charge d'affaires of the Chinese Embassy in Nepal.

Wang described the project as one that has displayed China's pursuit of quality in project construction and marked Nepal's national pride.

Referring to the inauguration of the new airport, the recent border reopening between Nepal and China and the start of the survey work on the cross-border railway, Prachanda said, "Big projects are being initiated with Chinese support." Enditem

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