Pokhara striding to prosperity

Around 400,000 tourists come to Pokhara annually

Currently, hotels and restaurants at the Lakeside area are under construction. The reason for the flow of entrepreneurs’ investment in the hotel business is the start of the process of the construction of Pokhara Regional International Airport. Entrepreneurs believe that the construction of the international-level of airport will give a boost to tourist inflow. This very expectation has encouraged investors to pour their money into the construction of hotels and restaurants. Entrepreneurs are buoyed up by the beginning of the process of the construction of the said airport. Though any failure in the construction of the airport will take it a long time for the entrepreneurs to recover their investment, they are, however, confident that the international airport will be built in their city which will help them to recover their investment within a decade. This confidence has encouraged investors to pour millions of Rupees in the construction of hotels and restaurants. Not only in the airport, development works in and around Pokhara has also intensified in recent time. If these development works are complete within the planned time, the whole western region is going to become a developed region. This will also help the country toward economic prosperity. The article highlights some development projects that are ongoing in and around Pokhara.

Pokhara Regional International Airport
According to data, around 400,000 tourists come to Pokhara annually. Similarly, the number of domestic tourists also hovers around the same number. Currently, tourists arrive in Kathmandu through planes and later come to Pokhara on motor road or domestic flights. There are also a large number of tourists who come to Pokhara from India via land route. Stakeholders say that the regional international airport will connect the city to the world with international flights which will increase the flow of tourists to Pokhara and help uplift the economy of the country. The need of another international airport is also felt to serve as an alternative airport for the Tribhuvan International Airport when it is obstructed.
The construction of the regional international airport has begun with the financial support of China.
Bindu Kumar Thapa, President of Pokhara Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), said that the international airport was necessary for the prosperity of Pokhara. “The international airport will open the door for the economic development of Pokhara as well as the country overall,” said Thapa. “International airport is a must to develop the tourism sector,” he added.
Pokhara Tourism Council’s Chairman Som Thapa said that the major reason for the flow of investment in the infrastructure by the investors here is the construction of the international airport.
“We’re really hopeful that the international airport will be constructed here which will connect this region with international flights. The international airport has now become a big dream for the people of the western region,” said Thapa. “The airport will help those tourists who want to return after completing their vacation here. Likewise, the duration of the stay of tourists will also increase as their Kathmandu-Pokhara and Pokhara- Kathmandu routes that tourists need to currently travel will shorten,” he explained the benefits of the international airport in Pokhara. The government has awarded the Chinese contractor China CAMCE the construction responsibility. The airport is being built at the cost of Rs 21.47 billion with the soft loan of Chinese Export Import Bank.

Cable Car
Within two years, two cable car systems are going to be built. One will connect Basundhara Park with Shanti Stupa while the other is going to be built between Sedibagar and Sarangkot. The Basundhara Park-Shanti Stupa distance is 11.3 kilometers and the Sedibaga-Sanagkot stretch is 2.3 kilometers long. Rs 2 billion will be spent on these two cable car projects.
“One can complete his Pokhara tour within a day. The completion of these cable cars will help extend the stay of tourists in Pokhara,” Rajesh Babu Shrestha, Executive Director of Manakamana Darshan, told Republica. Local businessmen are also happy with the cable car projects. “The cable cars will help increase tourism activities here,” said Thapa.

Pokhara-Jomsom land route
Direct bus service to Jomsom in Mustang from Pokhara is available. However, this route is facing hurdles frequently due to the syndicate system from the local travel entrepreneurs. Local travel entrepreneurs were accusing tourism entrepreneurs of providing well-facilitated bus service to locals which was hampering their business, thus creating inconveniences to tourists. The direct bus service from Pokhara has provided a relief to tourists who want to go for trekking in Upper Mustang as well as the Annapurna area. According to tourism entrepreneurs, the direct bus service has also become beneficial to those tourists who want to go to Muktinath for religious purposes. As many tourists cannot afford flight tickets, the direct bus service has become an alternative to those tourists to travel to Muktinath. Jomsom is 158 kilometers from Pokhara. Vehicles are plying on the route of Beni to Jomsom on a track constructed by Nepal Army some 15 years ago. The bus service has also helped increase tourism activities in the mountainous district. According to data, nearly 15,000 Indian tourists reach Muktinath for their pilgrimage annually.

Construction of Industrial Estate
With the Pokhara Industrial Estate becoming congested, there are initiatives underway to develop an industrial estate in Lekhnath Municipality. The Lekhnath Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) is taking the lead to build the industrial estate in the unregistered land available at Patneri of the municipality.
“There are around 715 ropanis of unregistered land at Patneri. While it’s far from human settlements, it’ close enough to the physical infrastructure as well as the highway. Thus, this area is perfect for the industrial estate,” said Laxmi Tripathi, First Vice-President of LCCI. As it is unregistered land, the government does not need to invest in the acquisition of the land. The current Pokhara Industrial Estate is spread over 500 ropanis which has provided space to 64 industries. Business leaders say that the large-scale industries of Pokhara Industrial Estate can be moved to the new industrial estate while it will also help to expand the industrial area.

Pokhara Ring Road
In a bid to curb the rising urbanization, the Pokhara Valley Ring Road Construction Project has begun some eightears ago. Though the first part of survey has already been completed, the opening of track process has not made much headway. The 77-km Ring Road plans to connect villages in and around of Pokhara and Lekhnath. As the earlier plan did not move ahead in the expected pace, the new plan of ring road that connects the new VDCs that have been merged with the Pokhara Municipality recently is being tried.
“The 74-kmnew ring road will make Pokhara a different city,” said Biswo Prakash Lamichhane, coordinator of Greater Pokhara Ring Road Project.

Hydropower
38megawatt of electricity from two hydroelectricity projects of Kaski is going to be added to the national transmission grid within a year. The 25mw capacity Upper Madi and 13mw Siklesh Hydroelectric Project being developed at Sildjure and Siklesh respectively will add 38mw of power to the national output. The 25mw electricity can reduce load shedding at least for an hour daily.