KATHMANDU, Feb 11: The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoCTCA) is preparing to release second tranche of subsidy for 100 new tourism destinations across the country.

It is preparing to disburse a total of Rs 500 million to the new destinations.

Issuing a notice on Monday, the ministry has asked the concerned local units to submit application for the release of second installment by March 13. “The government will release the subsidy only to those local units who submit application within the given timeframe," the notice reads.

However, the amount will be released only if the ministry finds the progress reports submitted by the local units satisfactory. 

The government has allocated a total of Rs 1 billion for infrastructure development in 100 new tourist destinations across the country. Concerned local units have already received Rs 500 million to build necessary infrastructure. The ministry is providing amount ranging from Rs 5 million to Rs 8 million per destination.

Rudra Singh Tamang, the spokesperson for the ministry, said the ministry will get progress report of infrastructure development at 100 destinations. "Many local units have not submitted their progress report yet. 

Now that we have set progress report as a condition for release of second tranche of grant, we will the update on physical and financial progress at these 100 new destinations," he added.

Tamang said that the ministry will evaluate the reports and distribute the second tranche of subsidy only if it finds the progress satisfactory.

"Projects that have not made any progress will not get additional subsidy. We know many local units have not even selected contractors. Some have reported dismal work progress," added Tamang. 

The government had unveiled the list of 100 tourist destinations last year to promote new destinations among travelers. The program intends to support the 'Visit Nepal Year 2020' campaign by providing both domestic and international tourists with new destination options to visit. 

The implementation of the project is expected to bring out new potential destinations that can be commercially groomed for development of tourism.

Of the 100 destinations, 17 are in Province 1, while Province 2 and Bagmati Province are home to 9 and 18 destinations, respectively. 

Similarly, 18 new destinations are in Gandaki Province and 16 in Province 5, while Karnali Province and Sudurpashchim provinces are home to 11 destinations each.

 
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