• Metropolis to get new office building in three years

Kathmandu, September 12

Kathmandu Metropolitan City is preparing to move its office to the District Coordination Committee building in Babarmahal for three years.

KMC is all set to demolish its current Bagh Durbar-based office, which was badly damaged in the 2015 earthquakes, to construct a new office building.

Joint Spokesperson for KMC Nama Raj Dhakal said DCC had agreed to provide one floor of the building to KMC.“Though we demanded two floors, DCC agreed to provide one floor in the beginning. We are now preparing to move the KMC office to the building,” he told THT, adding, “Since KMC does not have enough time to demolish the building, we are planning to shift its office to Babarmahal before Dashain.”

A month ago, a study showed the KMC building needed to be demolished as it was battered in the earthquakes.

According to KMC, the first decision Mayor Bidhya Sundar Shakya took after taking oath of office on May 31 was to reconstruct all quake-damaged municipal buildings. KMC had then conducted a study to see if its Bagh-Durbar based office could be retrofitted.

Earlier, government engineers had put a red sticker on the building just after the earthquakes, indicating the building was not safe for use.

KMC said the new building would be constructed within three years. However, the design and cost of the building have yet to be finalised.

KMC office has more than 200 staffers.

Bagh Durbar, which was built around 100 years ago, is located to the west of Tundikhel.