Kathmandu. The Government of Nepal has decided to accept a concessional loan equivalent to US$85 million from the World Bank for the construction of the Greater Lumbini Project. Federal Affairs and General Administration Minister Pratibha Rawal today informed about the decision of the Council of Ministers meeting held on Tuesday. He said that now the work of the project will move forward.

The project has been designed to develop Kapilvastu, Rupandehi and West Nawalparasi districts keeping Lumbini in Nepal, the birthplace of Buddha, at its centre. Last year itself, on the initiative of former Finance Minister Vishnu Paudel, a proposal for a loan amounting to about Rs 12.5 billion was presented to the World Bank.

Now agreement will be made for project implementation. After the agreement, this amount will be spent in the development of Buddha- areas of Kapilvastu, Rupandehi and Nawalparasi. According to Lumbini Development Fund, under this project, infrastructure for tourists will be developed at the sites associated with Buddha located in all three districts. The implementation of the project will be through the Ministry of Urban Development and Ministry of Tourism. There will be participation of the Archeology Department, Lumbini Development Fund and Nepal Tourism Board along with four local bodies including Lumbini Cultural Municipality, Devdah, Ramgram and Kapilvastu Municipality.

Under this project, various tourist infrastructures including roads, drains, bus parks, electrification, meditation centers for Buddhist pilgrims, rest stops, cafes, information centers and sales centers for local products will be constructed. Lumbini is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Mayadevi Temple, Buddha’s birthplace, sacred Pushkarini Pokhri and Ashoka Pillar are the major places of historical importance located here. Devdah also has many historical and archaeological sites to Buddha.

Tilaurakot of Kapilvastu is known as the capital of the ancient Shakya kingdom, where Prince Siddhartha spent his childhood. Ramgram Stupa of West Nawalparasi is considered to be the only stupa where the original remains of Buddha are safe, for which detailed planning has been prepared. In the first phase of the project, work will be done on these major Buddhist sites. Earlier, the four municipalities under Buddha Circuit had also submitted a joint memorandum to the World Bank to ensure a budget of US$8 million each for the project implementation.

The objective of the project is to find sources of investment, identify, develop and promote new tourist destinations. For this, continuous studies and discussions have been taking place at the expert level, in which experts from the World Bank were also involved. Through this project, regional infrastructure development, expansion of economic activities, employment generation and sustainable urban development will be promoted while establishing Lumbini as a spiritual, cultural and tourism hub. Besides, heritage conservation, good governance and livelihood of the local community will also be given priority.

According to former minister Vishnu Paudel, the plan is to develop a model area of ​​religious tourism, cultural preservation and sustainable economic prosperity with Lumbini at the center through multi-sectoral collaboration and international partnerships. The goal of the project is to strengthen the tourist infrastructure, preserve cultural heritage and make Lumbini a major center of world peace and sustainable tourism on the basis of religious tolerance and cultural diversity.