His Majesty The King and Her Majesty The Gyaltsuen, accompanied by Their Royal Highnesses Gyalsey Jigme Namgyel and Gyalsey Ugyen Wangchuck, graced the commencement of construction work on the Gelephu International Airport (GIA).
Their Majesties were joined by over a thousand Desuup and Gyalsup volunteers to offer zhabtog — a tradition of voluntary service that has contributed to the construction of homes, monuments, and infrastructure for communities and the nation over the centuries.
The Prime Minister, senior government and GMC officials, representatives of the Zhung Dratshang, Lams and Trulkus, and members of the Gelephu community attended the ceremony. A prayer ceremony led by the Dorji Lopen was held from daybreak to bless the construction of the airport, with simultaneous prayers held in all the lhakhangs across the Dzongkhag.
Spanning 4 square kilometers across the Paitha River in Sarpang Dzongkhag, the airport will serve as Bhutan's southern gateway and anchor for the Gelephu Mindfulness City. Key features include a 3,000-meter CAT I Code 4E runway capable of handling Airbus A321 and Boeing 737 aircraft at the onset (and widebody aircraft in the longer term), capacity for 1.3 million annual passengers initially — expandable to 5.5 million and beyond — and a terminal inspired by Bhutan's four forest ecosystems: evergreen oak, cool broadleaf, warm broadleaf, and subtropical.
The project balances technical requirements with ecological responsibility: a box culvert system maintains the Paitha River's natural flow beneath the runway, and sustainable features include the use of green energy and passive ventilation. The design also incorporates Bhutanese heritage through traditional craftsmanship in terminal elements, landscape zones featuring native flora, and connections to future Gelephu Mindfulness City developments.
"The groundbreaking today for the Gelephu International Airport marks the commencement of construction of the airport, which signifies the beginning of the realisation of His Majesty's Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC)," said Liew Mun Leong, CEO of the Gelephu Mindfulness City Authority.
The construction timeline runs from earthworks beginning in July 2025, through main construction starting in June 2026, aerodrome certification from July 2028, passenger terminal completion in March 2029, Operational Readiness and Airport Transfer (ORAT) from July 2029, to official inauguration targeted for 17 December 2029.
The Gelephu Mindfulness City Special Administrative Region is a development initiative centered on mindfulness, sustainability, and innovation in Bhutan's southern plains, integrating traditional Bhutanese values with modern frameworks and technology — and the new airport is designed as its gateway to the world.