Kathmandu, February 8
Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) granted permit to conduct a feasibility study on construction of a monorail system in the Valley.
The civic body and CIMEX Inc. signed a memorandum of understanding to allow the company to identify a 10km stretch in Kathmandu for operating a pilot monorail project within the next three months.
However, it will take over a year to identify all routes in the valley.
“If the study concludes that running a skyrail in the valley is possible, then we will start its construction within a year,” says Prasiddha Jung Pandey, Chairman of CIMEX Inc..
KMC started the study under a public-private partnership after it experts said a monorail system looked more viable than a metro rail, according to KMC CEO Rudra Singh Tamang.
In January, Investment Board Nepal formed a high-level mechanism to conduct the feasibility study of a metro rail system in Kathmandu. “Since a metro rail runs under the ground, the cost of construction and operation of such a system will be much higher than a monorail system,” says Tamang.
A monorail system will cost at least 80 per cent less than a metro rail system, according to Pandey.
