Ncell Axiata Limited has taken up the responsibility for building and maintaining the greening of Koteshwor-Kalanki Ring Road stretch in collaboration with the Department of Forest and Soil Conservation (DoFSC).

The project aims to transform this segment — covering approximately an area of 10.2 kilometres — into an exemplary green belt area fostering a clean and green Ring Road as part of its corporate social responsibility initiative (CSR). Ncell believes that the greenery around Ring Road will contribute towards an improved environmental quality across the community.

The initiative is already underway with Ncell beginning landscaping and building the green belt area. The project began in November with the completion of the Balkhu-Ekantakuna stretch as a pilot phase. As part of the initiative, the company supported the plantation of trees in this stretch and will ensure the maintenance of the green belt stretch and take care of more than 6,000 trees for five years.

“Ncell’s collaboration with the Department of Forest and Soil Conservation represents a major change in the way organisations can create an impact by working together. Our partnership with the DoFSC to roll out the 10.2 Greening of Ring Road initiative provides a great example of a public-private partnership,” said Andy Chong, chief executive officer of Ncell.

He added, “This greening initiative will contribute to a healthy environment for the community as a whole and support to deliver Ncell’s climate action goals. Greening of Ring Road is one of our efforts to address climate change, along with the need to reduce carbon footprint. Furthermore, we aim to contribute towards more sustainable projects that can create larger long-term impacts countrywide.”

Man Bahadur Khadka, Director General of the DoFSC said, “It remains the government’s broader priority to drive and promote greening the environment across the country. I am delighted that Ncell has come forward to demonstrate their leadership by contributing to meaningful environmental outcomes on a significant scale during these challenging times as a part of their corporate social responsibility."

Ncell is also implementing a separate project to build a green park at the heart of Kathmandu. Previously, the company had supported reforestation by planting 50,000 trees in 33 hectares of barren areas of Dhanushadham Protected Forest (DPF) and implemented environmental awareness programme in Dhanusha, contributing to awareness and conservation of the environment. After the implementation of this project, DPF was declared as ‘Illicit Felling and Open Grazing Free Zone’ by the government for the conservation and development of the forest.