Up to 2,000 visitors on public holidays, 65,391 people have visited so far
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In the 15 months since the tower was operational, a revenue of Rs 117 million has been collected. Only Rs 59.5 million has been collected till Falgun of the current fiscal year. Mahesh Rai (Mten), the head of the tower operation and management unit, said that 65,391 people have visited the tower so far.
The tower is usually open throughout the week. Rai said that 330,391 people have visited the tower till Falgun of the current fiscal year. In the last fiscal year, 275,000 tourists visited the tower. The nine-story tower was destroyed by the 2072 BS earthquake. After its reconstruction, it was opened to the public on 9 Mangsir 2081.
‘Visitors come to the tower depending on the weather and season,’ said Rai, ‘1,200 to 1,400 come during the season and up to 2,000 come on a single day on public holidays.’ The reconstruction work of the tower is not yet complete. The tower was opened to the public before the ground floor work was completed. The main reconstruction work of the tower is almost complete, said Jhapar Singh Bishwakarma, director of the Central Project Implementation Unit (Buildings and Housing) project. According to him, work is underway to build a courtyard and a ‘museum’ in the tower premises.
‘Lights have been installed in some parts of the parking lot and jade fans have been installed, testing is yet to be done,’ said Bishwakarma, ‘all these works will be completed within the current financial year.’ Separate fees have been fixed to visit the tower. Rai says that it is Rs 200 for domestic tourists and there is a 50 percent discount on that fee for students and the elderly.
According to him, a ticket price of Rs 1,000 per person has been fixed for tourists coming from countries other than SAARC countries. In addition, a fee of Rs 500 has been fixed for tourists coming from SAARC countries. The tower is always open except for major festivals. The tower is open from 8 am to 8 pm. After an agreement between the Kathmandu Metropolitan City and the Ministry of Urban Development, free parking has been arranged in the 3 basements of the tower.
The construction of the tower, which began on 15 Asoj 2075, has not been completed despite repeated extensions. According to the initial contract agreement, the construction should have been completed by 14 Asoj 2077. Even though the deadline was extended for the fifth time until Asoj 2080, the work was not completed.
The deadline was extended for the sixth time until 20 Asoj 2081, but the entire work has not been completed. The contract has been taken by GIETC-Raman JV. Although GIETC is a Chinese company, the work is being carried out by Nepali contractor company Raman Construction, which has been awarded a contract worth Rs 3.48 billion. The deadline has now been extended until April 2009. Only 85 percent of the work has been completed so far.
