Locals in Damak anticipate that Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s upcoming visit to China will address the stalled ‘China-Nepal Friendship Industrial Park,’ a project proposed to be developed with Chinese investment.

Although the foundation stone for the park, envisioned as the largest and model industrial park in South Asia, was laid about four years ago during Prime Minister Oli’s previous tenure, no visible progress has been made.

According to Govinda Thapa, Chairman of the ‘China-Nepal Friendship Industrial Park’, other preparatory work, apart from the physical construction, has been completed.

He cited the project’s large scale and legal hurdles as reasons for the delays, stating, “The work has not been halted, nor has it remained entirely undone.”

He explained that significant time has been taken to prepare the detailed project report (DPR) and manage the land for the project.

Thapa also stated that it is natural to expect the matter to be raised during Prime Minister Oli’s visit to China.

“This issue is being discussed directly or indirectly,” he said. Thapa further mentioned that not only locals but the Prime Minister himself are committed to addressing the issue and completing the park’s construction.

According to CPN-UML Jhapa secretary Tulsi Karki, locals demand a concrete decision on the park during this visit, expressing confidence that the matter will be resolved.

“This issue will also be concluded,” he added. He said that the local party committee has urged the Prime Minister to raise the issue during his discussions.

Since Prime Minister Oli laid the foundation stone for the ‘China-Nepal Friendship Industrial Park’ himself and as the project is located in his constituency, locals believe he will give it the necessary attention.

Nagendra Mani Neupane from Damak-10 remarked that some suspect the project is merely an election slogan.

However, he expressed hope that the project, supported by the Chinese government from the outset, will be meaningfully advanced during the Prime Minister’s visit.

Damak Municipality Mayor Ram Kumar Thapa expressed his desire for the project to not remain in limbo.

He emphasised that the project, described as the dream of Damak and the entire eastern region, has been stalled for years. He urged for the matter to be finalised promptly and included in the Prime Minister's agenda.

Mayor Thapa stated that residents repeatedly raise questions about the lack of progress. “When people bring up the park issue, I find myself unable to respond in lack of information,” he said.

“If it is going to be built, it should be confirmed, and if not, it should be clearly declared that it won't be built,” he said.

Thapa mentioned that he has heard about the involvement of Chinese investment and remains optimistic that Prime Minister Oli, as a people’s representative from the area, will address the matter and initiate construction.

Following the Nepal Investment Board's meeting on August 2, 2019 which approved the park’s development under a public-private partnership model involving land acquisition, infrastructure construction, and transfer, locals were optimistic about its progress.

However, physical construction of the park remains almost non-existent.

China’s Lhasa Economic and Technology Development Zone Jing-Ping Joint Creation Construction Project Development Co. Ltd. has been authorised to prepare the DPR under the Public-Private Partnership and Investment Act, 2075 BS, with an estimated investment of 64.41 billion Chinese yuan.

Despite this, the detailed report has not been disclosed. After the BRI International Conference, a high-level Chinese delegation visited Nepal from December 25 to 29, 2017 and inspected the park’s proposed site.

At the time, this project was described as Nepal’s first development project under China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

Prime Minister Oli had laid the foundation stone on fertile land along the Ratuwa River, straddling the Damak and Gauradaha municipalities in Kamal Rural Municipality, Jhapa.

During the ground breaking ceremony, Oli announced that the park would generate at least 100,000 jobs and mark the beginning of a new era. The project plans to cover 2,200 bighas, with work initially starting on 1,200 bighas of land.

According to the Investment Board’s website, the first phase is expected to be completed within three years. The park, spreading across 1,422 hectares, will have 491 plots and a project duration of 30 years.