SARLAHI, Jan 29: A detailed project report (DPR) for building Nepal’s largest industrial area in Sarlahi district is ready.
According to Amrit Shahi, chief of Expansion Division of Industrial Districts Management Ltd (IDML), the DPR for the industrial estate to be built in Murtiya under Sagarnath Forest Development Project has already been prepared. “Works for Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is underway,” he added.
The project will cover 1,984 hectares of land in Murtiya.
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“We are preparing to make this area economic hub of not only Province 2, but the entire country,” Shahi added.
Preliminary study for the project was done with the budget allocated in Fiscal Year 2017/18, while DPR was prepared with the budget earmarked in the current fiscal year, added Shahi.
Shahi further added that the cabinet will formally declare the area as an industrial estate in the near future. “After that EIA study will gain momentum,” he added.
According to officials of the project, the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies has already submitted a proposal for declaring the area as an industrial estate to the cabinet. “Once the project gets go-ahead from the cabinet, we will start land acquisition and resettlement works,” Shahi added.
The proposed land for the industrial area comes under Bagmati and Hariwan municipalities.
Talking to Republica, Ganesh Prasain, the mayor of Hariwan Municipality, said that the municipality will extend all possible support to build the industrial estate. “It is a positive move. Industrial estate in our locality will help create jobs for local people as well as give an impetus to local economy,” he added.
Officials of IDML are upbeat about the success of the industrial estate project. They say that the estate’s close proximity to the proposed Kathmandu-Tarai Expressway, Nijgadh International Airport as well as the Inland Container Depot in Birgunj will encourage industrialists to set up their plants here.
Of the 2,741 hectares of land in the proposed site in Murtiya, 2,134 hectares of forest has been encroached upon. Dense forest has been cleared to make way for settlements and farmland.
