Kathmandu, August 3

Minister of Education, Science and Technology Giriraj Mani Pokharel and Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Yu Hong jointly laid the foundation stone for reconstruction of the historic Durbar High School amidst a function held here today.

The school will be reconstructed with financial assistance worth Rs 90.1 million from the Chinese government. The reconstruction project is expected to be completed in 20 months.

Durbar High School also known as Bhanu Secondary School is the first school in Nepal based on modern education system and was built during the Rana regime.

Speaking at the programme, Minister Pokharel said the Kathmandu Durbar High School Reconstruction Project was one of the 25 post-earthquake reconstruction projects funded by the Chinese government. “Due to different problems, reconstruction of oldest modern school could not start earlier,” he said.

Ambassador Yu Hong said Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s recent visit to China had opened a new chapter in China-Nepal relations and paved the way for comprehensive partnership.

“The Chinese government will continue to support Nepal’s economic and social development within its capacity, promote post-disaster reconstruction projects actively, provide more government scholarships and training opportunities, strengthen exchanges and cooperation in education, and people-to-people relations.”

The Chinese ambassador also expressed hope that all sides would support reconstruction of the school and requested the contractor to complete the project on time.  Shanghai Construction Company has been awarded the  contract for reconstructing the school, while China Aviation Planning  and Design Institute has prepared the design of the school building. The  school is being reconstructed under turnkey model.

“The school building will  stand as a symbol of Nepal-China relations. It would be the new carrier  of Nepal-China relations,” Yu said.

After the 2015 earthquakes, the  Government of China had also sent a team for rescue operations and  provided assistance materials. China is supporting Nepal in five  major areas including livelihood, reconstruction of the physical  infrastructures, and reconstruction of the archaeological heritages,  disaster mitigation and assistance in medical and health sectors.

The governments of Nepal and China  had signed a memorandum of understanding on July 23, 2015 to advance  25 projects and Durbar  High School reconstruction is one of them. Besides, the government of China has  promised to reconstruct six schools in Rasuwa, Sindhupalchowk and  Dolakha districts.

Reconstruction of the school had been delayed due to lack of coordination between National Reconstruction Authority, Department of Archaeology, Kathmandu Metropolitan City and Ministry of Education, Science and Technology.