Govt to build cable cars in Pathibhara, Swargadwari

KATHMANDU, Feb 13:

In a bid to promote pilgrimage tourism in the country, the government has asked interested firms to submit their Expression of Interest (EOI) for the development and management of two cable car projects under Public Private Partnership (PPP) model.

The Ministry of Culture Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoCTCA) has sought EOI from both domestic and international developers or their joint ventures to implement cable car service projects in two religious sites - Pathibhara and Swargadwari.

Pathibhara is a famous religious shrine lying at an altitude of 12,448 ft in northern part of Taplejung district. Similarly, Swargadwari, another popular pilgrimage site, lies at an altitude of 6,969 ft in Pyuthan district.

Prakash Raghubanshi, project manager at MoCTCA, said the proposed Pathibhara Cable Car will establish direct connection between Lower Phedi and Upper Phedi where the Pathibhara temple is located. Similarly, the Swargadwari Cable Car will link Bhingri area with the Swargadwari temple.

As per the pre-feasibility study conducted by the government, both the cable car systems will be 2.5 to 3 km long. “The station of both the cable cars will be developed at the places near the motorable road," he added.

MoCTCA had sought EoI from interested firms on Thursday.

The government is developing both the projects on Build, Own and Operate (BOO) modality as per Private Financing on Build and Operation of Infrastructure Act. Both the projects are in government´s Immediate Action Plan for Governance and Economic Reform 2012.

According to MoCTCA officials, the government will select six companies after evaluating technical and financial capability of the interested firms. “We will evaluate their credibility, technical resources and financial capacity,” he added.

The shortlisted firms will then have to submit their Request For Proposal (RFP), which includes project details including implementation cost. “After evaluating RFP, the implementation contract will be awarded to the most capable company,” Raghubanshi said.

To ensure smooth implementation of the projects, the government will provide different incentives to the selected companies.

Source: Republica