A foundation supported by the Chinese government on Friday unveiled details of a $3 billion plan to build a “special development zone” in Nepal, which will transform the town of Lumbini, regarded as the Buddha's birthplace, into a sprawling tourism, pilgrimage and education centre modelled on Mecca in Saudi Arabia. The Nepal government has welcomed the plan ‘in principle.'
The Asia Pacific Exchange and Cooperation Foundation (APECF), a Beijing-based organisation, backed by the Chinese government, has already raised half of its proposed $3 billion target for the venture from investors in China and overseas, officials told The Hindu .
A preliminary plan for the “special development zone,” including highways, hotels, tourism centres and power projects for the town of Lumbini, will be completed by the end of the year, following which work on the project is expected to begin.
Xiao Wunan, the vice-chairman of APECF, said the project received the backing of the Chinese government's highest levels, and was also being supported by Nepali parties.
In Kathmandu, Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal's foreign policy adviser, Milan Mani Tuladhar, told The Hindu : “In principle, we welcome any assistance within the Lumbini masterplan prepared by the Nepal government to develop the region. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the UNESCO, and foreign governments, including China, have also expressed an interest in helping us. Once we have concrete details, there are separate government channels to process any assistance.”
Newly appointed Chinese Ambassador to Nepal, Yang Houlan, visited Lumbini last week and pledged China's assistance for the development of the region.
Promoting Buddhist culture
The APECF is known in Nepal for its association with the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda.' Last October, Mr. Prachanda attended a conference organised by the foundation in Kuala Lumpur. On his return, he told journalists in Kathmandu that the foundation appointed him as its ‘co-chairman.'
Mr. Xiao said the project had Mr. Prachanda's backing, but was also being supported across the political spectrum in Nepal, “Left and Right.”
Mr. Xiao said the project would serve as a “strategic centre point” for promoting Buddhist culture, with renewed interest in Buddhism in China, where there are several hundred millions of followers of the faith, likely to guarantee a booming tourism market in Lumbini.
According to the Lumbini Development Trust, a little more than 1,00,000 foreign tourists visited the area in 2010, excluding Indian visitors many of whom use the land route from across the border. The APECF aims to increase the annual number of tourists to 5 million.
The foundation expects a substantial amount of funds to be raised from the Chinese investors. “I have no concern about meeting our $ 3 billion funding target,” Mr Xiao said. “We have already had a lot of interest from Chinese companies, and also from across the world, including the Middle East.”
Investment from India
He said the project had, as yet, not received financial support from the Chinese government, and expected to meet its fund-raising targets from outside investors. Mr. Xiao is also courting investment from India. He will visit India later this year, and had asked the financial services firm Morgan Stanley to set up meetings with potential investors. Mr. Xiao said he also planned to rope in Indian non-governmental organisations for support.
The project would be “an integration of the commercial and cultural.” Its religious dimensions are, however, expected to stir debate. The APECF said the project “has received the full support from Buddhists representing different parties – Mahayana, Hinayana and Tibetan Buddhism – and had been warmly welcomed by various entities.”
Mr. Xiao did not say if the China-backed APECF would allow the Dalai Lama, one of Tibetan Buddhism's most important figures, to participate in Lumbini's development.
“Our aim now is to produce the infrastructure and develop the economy,” he said. “The first step is roads, power and water. We will not consider this issue until the next step, and will think about it in the future.”
A senior Foreign Ministry source in Kathmandu, on the condition of anonymity, told The Hindu that there was ‘almost no possibility' of the Dalai Lama visiting Lumbini in light of Chinese government's pressure on issues related to Tibet.
Despite Dalai Lama's reported desire to visit Nepal, the Nepal government has neither invited him nor granted him permission for several decades in line with its commitment to the ‘one China' policy.
Mr. Xiao said a plan to develop Lumbini's tourism had been considered “years ago,” but only in the last year did the resources — and political momentum — render it possible. “We have only had the resources since last year to take it forward,” he said. “When we proposed the project to the [Communist] Party and the country's leadership, we at once had their positive support.”
