Under the Saarc beautification project, the authorities have prioritised the task of installing solar-powered street lamps in the major thoroughfare which is identified as one of the main routes for the regional summit as Saarc delegates and guests will regularly pass through it. 

Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has been assigned to keep the major city streets, heritage sites, roads around the Summit venue including the busy Maitighar-Tinkune stretch illuminated during nighttime for the Saarc Summit by installing solar-powered steet lamps.

“We will be equipping major Saarc routes including roads around the Summit venue with solar-powered street lamps to keep them illuminated during nighttime,” said Bhanubhakta Bhattarai, chief at the NEA Central Branch.

As the 3.3 km stretch has witnessed a major facelift recently, official with the project believe that equipping the road with solar-powered street lamps will also enhance the beauty of the Maitighar-Tinkune road section. “As this busy thoroughfare is a model street which boasts expressway, service lanes, and will soon be equipped with greenery, luxurious pavements and cycle lanes, illuminating it with solar lights will add more beauty to the stretch,” said Shyam Prasad Kharel, Chief at the Kathmandu Valley Road Improvement Project (KVRIP). “The solar-powered street lamps will not only light up main streets during the long load shedding hours, it will also compliment many such Valley beautification projects,” he further said. 

The NEA has demanded Rs 210 million from the Ministry of Finance for the street lamp installation project. The electricity authority also plans to install solar street lamps from the Tribhuvan International Airport to Soaltee Mode, Jamal to Saarc Secretariat Office, New Road to Hanumandhoka and Airport to Gaushala. Plans are also afoot to equip areas around Tundikhel, City Hall and in Bhaktapur and Patan Durbar squares with the street lamps as they are possible sites to be visited by Saarc delegates and guests.

Similarly, Kathmandu Metropolitan City(KMC) also plans to equip various areas in the city with solar lights in view of the upcoming Saarc Summit.  The metropolis plans to support the initiative taken by the NEA in New Baneshwor, New Road, and the street surrounding Tundikhel, among others.

The project would cost KMC’s coffers an estimated Rs 40 million.

Earlier, KMC had also announced a budget of over Rs 680 million for various Saarc beautification projects, earmarking a major chunk on solar-powered street lamps  in the Capital.