Lumbini Buddhist Circuit Project Agreement Signed

Bhairahawa. An agreement has been reached for the construction of the Buddhist Circuit with the objective of developing the Greater Lumbini region as an international religious, cultural, and tourist destination.

Under the project to be operated with financial assistance from the World Bank, a development partnership agreement has recently been signed with four local levels here to operate programs for tourism infrastructure expansion, local employment promotion, and destination management.

An agreement on project implementation was signed between the Department of Urban Development and Building Construction and Kapilvastu, Lumbini Cultural, Ramgram, and Devdaha Municipalities. Director General of the Department, Rabindra Bohara, and the mayors and representatives of the concerned municipalities signed the agreement.

The World Bank has already decided to provide loan assistance of approximately 85 million US dollars (approximately 12.66 billion rupees) for the tourism development and local economic activity expansion of the Greater Lumbini region. Under the project, which will operate for five years, an investment of approximately 460 million rupees will be made in each municipality.

According to Ashish Kumar Yadav, Engineer of Lumbini Cultural Municipality, approximately 90 million rupees will be provided to each municipality as the first installment under the project at the beginning of the next fiscal year.

The main objective of the project is to conserve historical and religious sites related to Buddha, construct tourism infrastructure, and create income-generating opportunities by connecting the local community with tourism. The project plans to increase tourist stay duration, market local products, and expand tourism-related services.

Kapilvastu Municipality Mayor Sudeep Poudel expressed confidence that the conservation and promotion of historical sites connected with Buddha's life will help attract international tourists.

Under the project, heritage-friendly pathways, rest areas, public toilets, digital information boards, signage, drinking water, sanitation, and drainage management structures will be constructed. Additionally, programs to create employment opportunities by training local youth as guides are also included.

The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Lumbini Development Trust, and Nepal Tourism Board will coordinate destination development and tourism management work, while the Department of Urban Development and Building Construction will be responsible for physical infrastructure construction.

Acting Mayor of Lumbini Cultural Municipality, Kalpana Harijan, stated that the project will significantly contribute to increasing the stay duration of tourists in the Lumbini region and making the local economy vibrant.

Tourism entrepreneurs have also expressed confidence that the effective implementation of the project will add a new dimension to the tourism development of Buddha's birthplace Lumbini and its surrounding areas. Although Lumbini is currently a major tourist destination in the country, entrepreneurs say that infrastructure and service expansion is necessary to increase the short stay duration of tourists.