By A Staff Reporter

Kathmandu, Oct. 5: The Investment Board of Nepal (IBN) has signed an agreement with Damak Clean Industrial Park Pvt. Ltd. to develop Rs. 113 billion China-Nepal Friendship Industrial Park in Damak of Jhapa district.
Chief Executive Officer of the IBN Maha Prasad Adhikari and Managing Director of the developer company Govinda Bahadur Thapa signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the presence of Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supply Matrika Prasad Yadav, at a programme organised for the official launching of the modern and ‘high-tech’ industrial infrastructure in State 1.
The park will be developed in 1,600 hectares of land and will share area in Damak and Gauradaha municipalities and Kamal Rural Municipality on the both side of the Ratuwa River.
The park will be developed in four phases and for the first phase investment of 586 million US Dollars has been approved by the IBN. However, Thapa said that the total investment in the park would go up to 1 billion dollars (Rs. 113 billion).
Vice Mayor of Lhasa Municipal People’s Government Liu Guang Min said that the project would be an example of international collaboration in industrial development and be a model in the South Asian region.
He said that the park will have positive and long term impact on local and national development of the country.
According to the investors, the park will boost the export sector, particularly non-traditional exports, help in substituting imports, introduce new technology, transfer new skills and expertise to local human resources and earn foreign exchange.
Lhasa Economic and Technological Development Zone, Jing-Ping Joint Creation Construction Project Development Co. Ltd is the investors of the park. IBN has allowed the developer company to prepare the Detail Project Report (DPR) of the park in August this year.
After completion of the DPR, the IBN and Damak Clean Industrial Park will sign the Project Development Agreement (PDA).
Thapa said that the project had completed the acquisition of land required for the park which is being promoted as the first project being developed in the country under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), an international campaign proposed and promoted by China.
“There is a strong political consensus at the local levels to develop the mega industrial park. It will be the most attractive and transparent project in the country and will create a new model of development,” he said.
Adhikari said that the government would put every effort to create business-friendly environment to facilitate investment in priority areas in infrastructure, business and industries.
The industrial park lies 9 km away from the East-West Highway, 60 km away from Nepal-India border point Kakadbhitta and 65 km from Rani Customs Biratnagar.
It is strategically located in the area from where access to India, Bhutan and Bangladesh is easy.
It will have facilities like child care centre, gas station, restaurant, bank, insurance, health clinic, government offices, clearing and forwarding services, and management and business consultancy services.