The government has begun the preparation of a detailed project report (DPR) for one of the largest industrial districts in Shaktikhor, Kalika Municipality in Chitwan. ECoCoDE Nepal, the consultant appointed by the government to prepare the DPR for the Shaktikhor District Project, started work on Wednesday.

The proposed industrial district is part of the government’s plan to build at least one industrial area in each of the country’s seven provinces. A Cabinet meeting held in February 2017 selected Shaktikhor for the construction of the industrial district in Province 3. The industrial area will occupy 1,178 hectares in ward numbers 3, 7 and 8 in Kalika Municipality.

Representatives of ECoCoDE Nepal led by engineer Kumar Dhamala, local leaders and members of the business community visited the project site on Tuesday. Dhamala said they would work on a war footing to complete the DPR within six months.

“As soon as we complete the DPR, we will start an environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the project,” said Dhamala. “Currently, we are studying the present situation and environment of the region.”

After completing the study, ECoCoDE Nepal will submit a report to Industrial District Management Limited, a state-owned company which oversees all industrial areas in the country. The report will include information about the roads, human settlements, rivers and streams, the environment and trees that need to be cut down. According to Bhesraj Duwadi, president of the Chitwan Industrial Association, the new industrial district will host only environment friendly factories.

“As this area will be developed as an industrial park, many industrialists have shown interest in establishing their factories in the industrial district,” said Duwadi whose association lobbied hard to have the industrial district established in the region. 

There will be 1,200-1,500 small, medium and large factories in the industrial district. The zone will provide employment opportunities to an estimated 300,000 people and help to make Chitwan district the financial capital of the country, according to Duwadi. 

Locals are elated with the government’s decision to establish the industrial district, and there is no dispute at the local level. “We had never thought that an industrial district would be built in our area,” said Dil Bahadur Magar, a local of Shaktikhor. “Now our youths will have jobs and our area will see development.  

The proposed industrial district is just 10 km from the East-West Highway. The area was formerly a camp for ex-Maoist combatants, and currently, it is used by a battalion of the Nepal Army.