by Karuna Thapa
Kathmandu, February 18
A contract has been inked with a Singapore construction company for the development of a ‘smartcity’ in Panchkhal municipality.
The Kathmandu-based Infrastructure Bank Limited (NIFRA), which had previously signed an agreement with the municipality in July, has now entered into an arrangement with SMEC International Pvt. Ltd.
According to the MoU, SMEC, a Singapore-based member of SJ, a worldwide urban infrastructure consulting organization, will conduct preliminary investigations, project structural blueprints, and successful practice study and analysis on an international level.
NIFRA will give required assistance in this regard, while the municipality will assist local residents with land acquisition. Ram Krishna Khatiwada, NIFRA’s Chief Executive Officer, and Salim Jahan Fahim, SMEC’s Country Head, signed the MoU.
Jones Lang LaSalle Property Consultants Pvt. Ltd., an American consulting business, has inked an arrangement with Nifra.
It has eight weeks to complete the study and provide a report, according to the agreement. NIFRA has announced that following the JLL report, work on a more extensive smart city study will be pursued.
On July 27, NIFRA and the municipality signed a memorandum of understanding to invest, build, and administer a smart city encompassing an area of around 5,500 ropanis in a public-private partnership (strong, capable, inclusive, and prosperous infrastructure).
Seven points were addressed in the agreement about making the municipality smart through corporate partnerships, including infrastructure management. The building of infrastructure for the smart city to be created in the area is expected to cost roughly Rs. 2 billion.
The municipality will donate 650 ropanis of land from its own property out of the entire area. NIFRA has also met with local people’s representatives, political parties, residents, and stakeholders to discuss the construction of Panchkhal Smart City, according to the report.
Mayor Mahesh Kharel stated that the municipality will assist in the administrative and land management work for the smart city that will be constructed under the land pooling concept, with NIFRA and its partner organizations bearing the cost of infrastructure construction. According to him, NIFRA is continuing the process for Panchkhal Smart City by collaborating with international and local construction firms.
Panchkhal is forming partnerships with financial institutions in order to grow and support entrepreneurship. Last August, the two parties also signed a partnership deal with Nabil Bank with the goal of providing simple loans to people who want to start a business on the city’s advice.
Several initiatives have been launched to transform the town into an “agricultural city.” For this reason, the municipality’s tenth municipal council recently established a policy prohibiting the construction of dwellings on fertile land.
Panchkhal municipality was founded in 2014 BS by the addition of five VDCs, although it was recently enlarged by the addition of two VDCs. The municipality is divided into thirteen wards and covers a total area of 103 square kilometers, with a population of 35,992.
A smart city is defined as a green city that is linked to information technology in industrialized countries. In Nepal, a city is defined as one that has all of the necessary facilities and infrastructure. Electricity, schools, colleges, hospitals, several parks, markets, sewerage, bus parking, and a cinema hall would all be available in Panchkhal Smart City (Sourced from Nepal Television).
