Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba Friday inaugurated an all-weather airport at Jomson servicing Mustang district north of the Annapurna and Dhaulagiri Himalayan range.

The arid cold deserts of Mustang will now be accesssible to air travellers throughout the year. An Asian Development Bank (ADB) loan helped finance the airport improvement.

Tourism and agriculture will directly benefit. Deuba also inaugurated the Mustang festival Friday to popularize Mustang as a tourist destination. Nepal Tourism Board sponsored the festival.

Similar ADB loans helped upgrade Lukla airport as well.