Kathmandu, December 2

Kathmandu Metropolitan City is preparing to introduce a smart card-based fuel system for its vehicles.

The KMC said it plans to build ‘smart’ Sajha petrol pumps where smart cards similar to ATM cards will be accepted to order fuel. “The new system will ensure that ordering of fuel and fuelling of vehicles will be completed within a few minutes,” Spokesperson of the KMC Gyanendra Karki told The Himalayan Times.

He said the petrol pumps will be well maintained with well-managed toilets, and a small tea shop next to it. “The drivers and driving staff will be able to make rest stops at the petrol pumps with clean restrooms and even a small shop for a meal,” Karki added. The petrol pumps will also have a waiting lounge, ATM booth, and a phone booth attached to it.

For this purpose, the KMC has bought 10,000 shares from Sajha petrol pump for Rs 1,000,000. The KMC informed that over 150 waste carrier vehicles and other KMC vehicles will use the system in the first phase, which will then be gradually opened to other vehicles.

The ‘smart petrol pumps’ are a part of a larger plan of the KMC to transform the capital into a ‘smart’ city. The KMC has also proposed to build three multi-storey parking building in New Road, Khula Manch, and Lainchaur to reduce problems of parking space in the inner city areas.

The KMC said it has proposed a multi-storeyed parking building with an underground parking lot in New Road. The facility will cost around Rs 550 million to construct.

A similar multi-storeyed parking building has also been proposed in Khula Manch. Likewise, another underground parking lot has been proposed in Lainchaur.

KMC said the proposals for the multi-storeyed parking buildings have been sent to the ministry and the KMC is waiting for a nod from them to start construction.

The KMC said that it has various other plans to transform the city into a ‘smart city’. The construction of Kathmandu View Tower, which started a few months ago in Old Bus Park, is also part of the same plan.

Work on building a park in Tinkune where either a statue of Manjushree or Buddha will be placed is also in progress.

The KMC will propose the design, estimated cost, and further details of the park to the ministry after approval of the proposed three parking facilities. Other programmes will be completed in coordination with Kathmandu Valley Development Authority and the private sector.

The Dharahara will be rebuilt with the same old design but with new construction materials. Within the ‘smart city’ plan, Rani Pokhari will be transformed into a ‘musical water fountain’; a two-km heritage path will be constructed from Kalmochan Ghat to Teku Dovan on the banks of the Bagmati River; and the 27 km Ring Road will be widened within the next 10 years.

Various road sections of Kathmandu will be widened and black-topped as soon as possible. The Kathmandu Valley Road Improvement Project had resumed expansion of 53 km road segments in Kathmandu in July this year.