In 1987, the South Asian Cooperation Organization (SAARC) summit was held in Kathmandu for the first time in Nepal. The need for a modern meeting hall was realized from the experience of conducting the conference in which the heads of state of 7 countries of South Asia participated.

According to the wish of the then King Birendra, it was proposed with China to build a modern hall for large gatherings. On the occasion of the king's visit, China agreed to build an international conference building. According to the same agreement, the construction of the international conference center was started in 1990 with the financial assistance of 1 billion from China.

China's Water and Energy Company built the conference center. The company completed the construction in 1993 in 33 months. The problem of the country's government not being able to maintain and maintain the structure that was made as a gift by the donor instead of having to build it by itself was also seen in the international conference center. 

It was said that two thousand people will be accommodated in the building built on the land spread over 155 ropanis in Baneshwar. The land where the royal Nepali army was living at that time belonged to the army. Although a conference center was built on that land with the help of China, the responsibility of building the garden was given to Nepal. 

Although nearly 3.5 million rupees are required for maintenance and operation, the government provided only 40 million rupees. Due to this, if the government resources are insufficient to maintain the structures built by the donor countries, the question has also started to arise as to how large development projects will be conducted. The government officials used to withdraw because they could not provide the necessary budget for the maintenance of the conference center which was under the Ministry of Housing and Physical Planning.

Government officials used to say, "Supporting the convention center is like taking care of a white elephant." Every year, there was a pressure on where to get the funds for the building's operation. The government asked the Nepal Management Association to give suggestions to organize the building of the conference center. The suggestions given by him were of short-term and long-term nature.

https://assets-cdn.kantipurdaily.com/uploads/source/news/kantipur/2025/third-party/2050-4-31-1442025011538-1000x0.jpg In the long term, it was also suggested that the building should be contracted by involving the private sector as well. The private sector suggested that the center can be developed as a market management from a tourism point of view. 

The government authorities' efforts to manage it and the problems faced by the government to protect the structure built by the donor, and the news titled "One Billion White Elephant - International Conference Center" was published in Kantipur Daily on 31st July, 2050 .