IME Group plans to construct four more cable cars with five-star hotels next 5 years

KATHMANDU, July 19:Chandra Prasad Dhakal, President of the Federation of Nepal Industry and Commerce, stated that the cable car circuit will add a new dimension to the tourism industry.

Dhakal stated in an interview with Indian journalists hosted by Lumbini Cable Car Limited in Basantpur, Palpa, that since cable cars have been functioning in Nepal one after the other, cable car circuits such as the Buddhist circuit and the Ramayana circuit will be a new package in Nepal's tourism promotion.

Dhakal stated that because tourism is the main source of Nepal's economy, investors from both countries will benefit from investing in it.

Dhakal stated that the goal of the IME Group is to expand the cable car network in all seven provinces over the next five years by building four additional cable cars with five-star hotels.

Dhakal stated that there are hundreds of hill locations in Nepal and that Indian nationals may visit if tourist infrastructure such as cable cars is built.

The Lumbini cable car, which is 2.6 kilometers long and costs 5 billion, is the province's first cable car. There is a bottom station in Butwal at Ramghat and a top station in Tinau hamlet of Palpa at Basantpur.

Religious monuments at the summit station include Kamakhyadevi, a hundred-year-old Bhagwati Temple, and Shiva's bull vahana (mount) Nandi.
 

Dhakal stated that because the Lumbini cable car is near Belhia Naka and Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha, Palpa Basantapur's gorgeous natural landscape and Kamakhya Devi temple attract Indian nationals.

President Dhakal further stated that combined investment with Indians can yield good returns in industries such as tourism, hydropower, mining and minerals, and agriculture.

President Dhakal requested that Indian tourists should be treated respectfully at the border crossings during their arrival in Nepal and administrative hassles should be eased.

President Dhakal stated that there is a proposal to operate shuttle buses from Belhiya to Butwal Golpark in the near future, citing that 40 percent of the total number of visitors who boarded the Lumbini cable car within one month of operation were Indian citizens. He claims that Kamakhyadevi, the hundred-year-old Bhagwati temple at the cable car's top stop, is popular with both Indians and Nepalese.

According to Operations Manager D N Kayastha, the development of a casino aimed at Indians, a function hall with a capacity of 1000 people, and a five-star hotel with 150 rooms at the top station of the Lumbini Cable car will be completed within two years.