Gelephu Mindfulness City is a lifetime opportunity, says Bhutan PM Tshering Tobgay Premium
The Hindu
Bhutanese PM Tshering Tobgay spoke of ‘deep’ economic challenges, the potential of the new carbon-negative Gelephu Mindfulness smart city project, and ruled out re-joining the BBIN vehicle agreement
Rejecting comparisons to other cost-intensive, low-return smart city projects worldwide, Bhutan Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay said the Gelephu Mindfulness City is a “once in a lifetime” opportunity for Indian investors in the 2,000 sq. km carbon-negative city project being designed.
Mr. Tobgay said Indian Airport Authority officials had already visited Gelephu and discussed permissions required for it, but that the contract for developing the airport is yet to be finalised, he told The Hindu in a virtual interview last week.
Mr. Tobgay said Bhutan is unlikely to review its decision to stay out of the Indian proposal for the Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal Motor Vehicle Agreement.
Bhutan announced this week that it will use ₹1,500 crore, part of a ₹10,000 crore outlay promised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Thimphu in March, for an ‘Economic Stimulus Programme’ to tackle its economic challenges of slow growth, downturn in tourism, and unemployment.
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