BHAIRAHAWA, May 23 -- Blacktopping of runway at the under-construction Gautam Buddha International Airport has been completed.

The blacktopping of 45-meter wide and 3,000-meter long runway is a major achievement in construction of the international airport, project officials told Republica.

Work on the international airport project located near Lumbini -- the birthplace of the Buddha -- started in 2015 with construction deadline of 2017. However, the project suffered delays, forcing Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) to extend construction deadline.

With construction of the runway, the existing runway of Gautam Buddha Airport will now be converted into a taxiway, Prabesh Adhikari, chief of the airport project, told Republica. "As...