KMC eyes 18-storey complex with 3-storey bus terminal

Bishnu Prasad Aryal
Kathmandu, November 26

Kathmandu Metropolitan City has floated a lofty concept of 18-storey business complex along with three-storey modern bus terminal replacing the oldest bus park at Ratna Park. The pre-feasibility study of the project has been already completed.

The project aims at materialising the concept with the giant business complex along with three-storey bus terminal at the centre of the city from where thousands of vehicles depart for different destinations in and around the Kathmandu Valley. The KMC authority plans it as a high earning resource for the civic body and as a support to minimise the traffic chaos with the new system at the city centre.

“We are afoot to carry out the detailed study, which will be completed within this fiscal year,” said Nava Raj Dhakal, a senior financial officer at the KMC. “We will launch the study in near future,” he added. “The construction will be completed in three years.”

 Deepak KC, another office at the Public Private Partnership for Urban Environment section in the KMC, said it would be a public private partnership project. “The pre-feasibility study was carried out in the financial support of about Rs 300,000 from the UNDP as part of its concept of PPPUE,” he said.

However, Dhakal preferred to build it by the civic body itself. “If we have 63 Ropanies of land at the bus park, why can’t the KMC construct the project itself?,” he questioned.

Some Rs 1 billion is estimated to complete the project, which categorically divides the terminal into three floors where buses will be stationed at underground, cars on first floor and motorcycles on the top floor. “We are determined to establish a complete modernised bus park,” said Dhakal. “The main building will be erected at the centre of the terminal.”

“There will be a lot of flats and spaces at the multi-complex where corporate offices, shops, restaurants, entertainment halls and theatres will be housed at the same building,” said Dhakal. “In fact, it will be most advanced complex ever built with qualitative and quantitative entities in the country,” he added.

Dhakal was a bit worried about the political situation of the country and confused whether the constitution would be written in time or not. “If the political situation favours the country, we will complete procurement and bidding process in the next fiscal year that begins in mid-July,” he was elated. “The administration is responsibly and seriously taking this project as a pride of the civic body,” he said.

However, the fluid political scenario of the country might spoil the lofty plan if it went on the unexpected path, the KMC officials were worried.