Mid-hill highway: Infrastructure master plan to be drafted for new cities
KATHMANDU, JUN 02 -
The government is planning to draft a master plan for coordinated physical infrastructure development for the 10 modern cities it has proposed to build on the Mid-Hill Highway. The strategy will serve as a guideline for the government to develop infrastructure for the 10 cities.
“We will ready a master plan and work accordingly from the next fiscal year,” said Sunil Kumar Karna, programme coordinator of the Clustered Urban Development Coordination Office that coordinates the affairs related with the project.
According to Karna, such a plan is necessary as it will guide land use, physical development, identification of industrial locations and disaster management. The government has selected two locations each in the five developments regions as potential sites for the planned cities.
The 10 locations targeted for development are Phidim (in Panchthar district), Basantapur (Terhathum), Khurkot (Sindhuli), Baireni Galchhi (Dhading), Dumre (Tanahun), Burtibang (Baglung), Chaurjahari (Rukum), Raakam (Dailekh), Sanfebagar (Achham) and Patan (Baitadi). They were selected on the basis of the recommendation of the Department of Urban Development and Building Construction.
Currently, the government is preparing a detailed project report (DPR) for physical infrastructure projects in the 10 cities related to drinking water, land management, road and drainage management. The government has provided Rs 4 million for the DPR in the current fiscal year.
The coordination office has demanded Rs 100 million for the next fiscal year to buy land in some of the planned cities and start physical development works. The government has been planning to construct basic infrastructure by itself first and then hand over other tasks including land development and housing construction to the private sector. To this effect, the coordination office will also set up a Town Development Committee in all the 10 selected locations.
“It is not possible for the government alone to develop the cities,” said a senior official at the newly formed Ministry of Urban Development. The official added that the exact type of the development projects to be handed over to the private sector would be known later as it was a matter of government interest and project costs.
Meanwhile, the Urban Development Department has been considering restructuring the coordination office into a Directorate of New Town Development Project. An official at the Urban Development Department said that they would send the proposal to the Urban Development Ministry within one week for institutional restructuring and recruiting necessary workforce.
Currently, the coordination office under the Urban Development Department with four officials has been looking after the town development scheme and the People’s Housing Project.
Source: The Kathmandu Post
