KATHMANDU, Nov 16: The construction of Kathmandu Tower at Old Bus Park in the capital is in limbo even though six months have already elapsed since shifting the bus park just across the main road to Khulamanch across.
Passengers and public buses are using Khulamanch as the bus park after the Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) office handed over the Old Bus Park for the construction of the Kathmandu Tower to a private company in April.
But the company Jaleshwor and Swachchhanda Bkoi Builders Pvt Ltd, which was awarded the construction work, is yet to begin construction in lack of machines which are being imported from Italy.
“We are importing some machines from Italy for the underground reconstruction,” Manoj Bhetwal, CEO of the company, told Republica Online. “The machine will be here in Kathmandu within 15 days, and right after that we will start the construction work at the Old Bus Park.”
However, some of the officials at the KMC said that construction was also delayed as the Ministry of Environment is yet to approve the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) report prepared for the construction.
Initially, the company had planned to construct a 29-storey building. But the KMC permitted for the construction of only 12-storey building in the same place.
After completion of the building construction, the bus park will be placed at the underground of the tower. The company had signed an agreement with the KMC under public-private partnership model. As per the agreement, the company is scheduled to build the tower within the next three years and it will become the KMC's property after 30 years.
Construction of Kathmandu View Tower at a snail's pace
