Unlike Nepal’s wish list of constructing Kerung-Kathmandu railway, Chinese officials suggested to invest in cross-border road connectivity.
A Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) lobby in Nepal has urged Nepal to invest in cross-border road connectivity to boost Chinese tourist arrivals. “The proposed Kerung-Kathmandu railway is a distant dream that may take a few decades, but road connectivity is essential for near future,” the Nepali and Chinese think tank said today. As Chinese officials have time and again referred to the Kerung-Kathmandu railway as a ‘long-term project’ which entails overcoming immense geographical complexities, Nepal-China road connectivity is not only ensure improved Chinese tourist inflow but could be a sustainable way to bring visitors from the northern neighbour.
Speaking at a workshop ‘Drive tourism initiative and tourism transport safety’ organised by the Belt and Road International Transport Alliance – think tank for the Belt and Road Initiative founded by the China Highway and Transportation Society – economic chancellor of the Chinese Embassy Zhang Fan said that the countries included in the Belt and Road Initiative witnessed 77 per cent growth in the number of Chinese tourists – in the last five years – and the numbers are growing at the rate of 15 per cent annually.
“There is a need for increased collaboration between Nepal and China on the framework of BRI projects as part of a cross-Himalayan connectivity network,” he added.
Likewise, deputy director of the International Cooperation Department of China Highway and Transportation Society Honghua Zhang, on the occasion, said that Nepal’s tourism sector could contribute 10 per cent to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), if challenges related to tourism infrastructure were resolved.
However, Nepal has not made any headway on infrastructure project negotiations under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) framework, which will expire in May 2020. Nepal and China signed the framework agreement on BRI on May 12, 2017.
On the occasion, transport expert Ashish Gajurel said that Chinese officials including representatives of Chinese road construction firms has hinted growing interest in what they called a trans-Himalayan network, particularly road connectivity. “Although there is scope of bringing in Chinese tourists or enhancing trade through road networks, the government has not taken the initiative to finalise such projects as part of the Belt and Road Initiative,” he said, adding that there are investment opportunities in Nepal’s transport and tourism sector. “If Nepal could bring direct investments to build roads on the northern border, we can host Chinese tourists in greater numbers.”
The bordering villages in Taplejung, Sankhuwasabha, Solukhumbu, Dolakha, Rasuwa, Gorkha, Mustang, Manang, Dolpa, Mugu and Humla were declared out of bounds to foreign visitors in the 1970s. The foreigners are required to get special permits from the Department of Immigration (DoI) to travel to these areas. The individual trekkers will not get any permit as only trekkers travelling in a group through a government authorised trekking agency can apply for permission with a fee ranging from $10 per week to $500 for 10 days depending on where one wants to go.
In the 1970s, the government imposed restrictions on the movement of foreigners in a number of northern villages bordering China's Tibet region as Khampa rebels were found using Nepali territory to mount cross-border raids. In 1974, the Nepali Army succeeded in completely disarming the Khampa rebels, but the travel restrictions remained.
But the trekking agencies and tour operators have been lobbying with the government to open up these areas. The travel entrepreneurs say that lack of government initiative to open up northern border regions and develop proper road connectivity has hindered growth prospects.
“Currently, Chinese visitors opting to travel to Lo Manthang have to fly to Kathmandu before taking the bus, which makes the travel costlier compared to travelling to their destination by bus via the Korala border point,” said the chairperson of Mountain Sports Federation Nepal, which is associated with the Alliance, Govinda Bhattarai.
“We have been constantly lobbying to promote drive tourism as a product based on-road travel offering trans-Himalayan tours, but poor road connectivity, and safety and legal restrictions made it difficult,” he added.
The Chinese officials have also been pushing for building high-quality roads linking Nepal and China to boost tourist arrivals to Nepal. According to the International Road Assessment Programme, ensuring more than 75 per cent of travel is on the equivalent of three-star or better roads for all road users by 2030 will be critical for Nepal to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the BRI can make important contributions to the targets.
“In Nepal, achieving greater than 75 per cent of travel on three-star or better roads for all road users by 2030 stands to save over 2,000 lives each year with an economic benefit to the country of over $6 billion,” according to the International Road Assessment Programme.
Better north-south road connectivity will not only boost tourist arrivals but also more trade among Nepal, China and India. Worse road condition has hit Nepal’s export making domestic products more expensive, whereas the imports have also been expensive fueling the inflation in the country.
A Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) lobby in Nepal has urged Nepal to invest in cross-border road connectivity to boost Chinese tourist arrivals. “The proposed Kerung-Kathmandu railway is a distant dream that may take a few decades, but road connectivity is essential for near future,” the Nepali and Chinese think tank said today. As Chinese officials have time and again referred to the Kerung-Kathmandu railway as a ‘long-term project’ which entails overcoming immense geographical complexities, Nepal-China road connectivity is not only ensure improved Chinese tourist inflow but could be a sustainable way to bring visitors from the northern neighbour.
Speaking at a workshop ‘Drive tourism initiative and tourism transport safety’ organised by the Belt and Road International Transport Alliance – think tank for the Belt and Road Initiative founded by the China Highway and Transportation Society – economic chancellor of the Chinese Embassy Zhang Fan said that the countries included in the Belt and Road Initiative witnessed 77 per cent growth in the number of Chinese tourists – in the last five years – and the numbers are growing at the rate of 15 per cent annually.
“There is a need for increased collaboration between Nepal and China on the framework of BRI projects as part of a cross-Himalayan connectivity network,” he added.
Likewise, deputy director of the International Cooperation Department of China Highway and Transportation Society Honghua Zhang, on the occasion, said that Nepal’s tourism sector could contribute 10 per cent to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), if challenges related to tourism infrastructure were resolved.
However, Nepal has not made any headway on infrastructure project negotiations under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) framework, which will expire in May 2020. Nepal and China signed the framework agreement on BRI on May 12, 2017.
On the occasion, transport expert Ashish Gajurel said that Chinese officials including representatives of Chinese road construction firms has hinted growing interest in what they called a trans-Himalayan network, particularly road connectivity. “Although there is scope of bringing in Chinese tourists or enhancing trade through road networks, the government has not taken the initiative to finalise such projects as part of the Belt and Road Initiative,” he said, adding that there are investment opportunities in Nepal’s transport and tourism sector. “If Nepal could bring direct investments to build roads on the northern border, we can host Chinese tourists in greater numbers.”
The bordering villages in Taplejung, Sankhuwasabha, Solukhumbu, Dolakha, Rasuwa, Gorkha, Mustang, Manang, Dolpa, Mugu and Humla were declared out of bounds to foreign visitors in the 1970s. The foreigners are required to get special permits from the Department of Immigration (DoI) to travel to these areas. The individual trekkers will not get any permit as only trekkers travelling in a group through a government authorised trekking agency can apply for permission with a fee ranging from $10 per week to $500 for 10 days depending on where one wants to go.
In the 1970s, the government imposed restrictions on the movement of foreigners in a number of northern villages bordering China's Tibet region as Khampa rebels were found using Nepali territory to mount cross-border raids. In 1974, the Nepali Army succeeded in completely disarming the Khampa rebels, but the travel restrictions remained.
But the trekking agencies and tour operators have been lobbying with the government to open up these areas. The travel entrepreneurs say that lack of government initiative to open up northern border regions and develop proper road connectivity has hindered growth prospects.
“Currently, Chinese visitors opting to travel to Lo Manthang have to fly to Kathmandu before taking the bus, which makes the travel costlier compared to travelling to their destination by bus via the Korala border point,” said the chairperson of Mountain Sports Federation Nepal, which is associated with the Alliance, Govinda Bhattarai.
“We have been constantly lobbying to promote drive tourism as a product based on-road travel offering trans-Himalayan tours, but poor road connectivity, and safety and legal restrictions made it difficult,” he added.
The Chinese officials have also been pushing for building high-quality roads linking Nepal and China to boost tourist arrivals to Nepal. According to the International Road Assessment Programme, ensuring more than 75 per cent of travel is on the equivalent of three-star or better roads for all road users by 2030 will be critical for Nepal to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the BRI can make important contributions to the targets.
“In Nepal, achieving greater than 75 per cent of travel on three-star or better roads for all road users by 2030 stands to save over 2,000 lives each year with an economic benefit to the country of over $6 billion,” according to the International Road Assessment Programme.
Better north-south road connectivity will not only boost tourist arrivals but also more trade among Nepal, China and India. Worse road condition has hit Nepal’s export making domestic products more expensive, whereas the imports have also been expensive fueling the inflation in the country.
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