Cable cars become new business of attraction

Kathmandu, Nov. 3: Cable cars have become a new business attraction in the country as several business companies have come up with new services at several parts of the nation.

A cable car service at Kalinchowk, the holy shrine at the altitude of 3,755 metres from sea-level in Dolakha district, has come into commercial operation from Saturday, and another cable car project in Pokhara has installed the first pole on Friday.

The third cable car services in the country, built by Kalinchowk Darshan Limited, started its test operation before Dashain festival with four gondolas. It has shortened about 1.5 hour walk from the foothills to the Kalinchowk Bhagawati shrine to 5 minutes cable car journey.

According to the company, only one gondola is in operation for the time being and it can accommodate 10 persons. The project is built at a cost of Rs. 450 million.

Meanwhile, Annapurna Cable Car of Pokhara has erected the first pole to fix the cable. Annapurna Cable Car Pvt. Ltd. is constructing the facility connecting the Phewa Lake in Pokhara city and Sarangkot, a popular hill station.

The Rs. 1 billion project has 85 per cent Nepali, including 10 per cent from the local people, and 15 per cent Japanese investment. The company said that the cable will be of 2.1 kilometers and will have more than 36 gondolas.

Two commercial cable cars, both connecting religious sites, are in operation at Manakamana Temple of Gorkha district and Chandragiri Hill of Kathmandu district.

Built with the Austrian technology, the Manakamana cable car is the first and longest in the country. It was opened for the public in November 1998 and is 2.77 kilometre long.

The Chandragiri cable care is 2.5 km long. The Rs. 3.25-billion project also includes a magnificent Lord Shiva temple, conference hall, view tower, coffee shops, children’s park, restaurants and a three-star boutique hotel atop Chandragiri hill.

A mechanised bridge constructed in a cable-car model is also in operation over the Kaligandaki River connecting Kushma of Parbat district and Balewa of Baglung district.

Similarly, if everything goes as planned, the country will also have its longest cable car from Bire Thanti of Kaski district to Muktinath, the holy place in Mustang district.

Muktinath Darshan Pvt. Ltd. has proposed to develop the project at a cost of 350 million US Dollars – about Rs. 41.3 billion.

The Investment Board of Nepal has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the company to develop the project, and the company will prepare the Detailed Project Report (DPR) within 18 months from the date of MoU signing.

Bire Thanti, one of the entry-points to the Annapurna region, is situated at 1025-m height from the sea level and Muktinath temple is about 3,800 m altitude.

Likewise, cable car projects are in the offing at Maulakalika Temple in Gaindakot of Nawalparasi district, Pathibhara holy shrine in Taplejung district, Swargdwari of Pyuthan district and other religious and touristic places. An urban cable car is also in consideration in the Kathmandu Valley.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 4 November 2018.