The US Embassy will extend financial support totalling $500,000 (Rs50 million) for the restoration of Kaiser Mahal Palace and Char Narayan Temple at Patan Durbar Square. 

These two sites bagged this year’s Ambassador Fund for Cultural Preservations (AFCP) in a worldwide competition. The grants were awarded to the Impact Foundation and the Kathmandu Valley Preservation Trust (KVPT) to support the restoration of the south wing of the palace and the temple, the embassy said in a statement. 

The Impact Foundation, which is responsible for reconstruction of Kaiser Mahal Palace, damaged in the 2015 earthquake, will receive $400,000 through the AFCP. 

“The project will stabilize, seismically strengthen and support urgent restoration work needed to repair the neo-classical Rana style building built in 1895,” read the statement. 

Another AFCP-supported reconstruction project will get $100,000 for restoration of the historic temple built in the Malla era.  

“The United States is committed to protecting Nepal’s unique and irreplaceable cultural heritage,” US Embassy Charge d’Affairs Michael Gonzales said.

“The restoration of buildings like Gaddi Baithak, which began in September 2016 through US support, and the Kaiser Library is key to preserving historically significant neo-classical buildings damaged by the 2015 earthquakes.”  

Established by the US Congress and administered by the Department of State, the AFCP has supported the preservation of cultural sites, cultural objects and forms of traditional cultural expression since 2001. The AFCP has supported 22 projects in Nepal through $3.4 million in US government grant funding.