February 28: Panchkhal municipality is set to become the first smart city of Nepal under the public-private partnership (PPP) model at a time when other smart city projects announced by the government have become uncertain. 
With an investment of Rs 2.5 billion, Panchkhal will soon become a smart city spread across 5,500 ropanis of land which includes land set aside for agriculture.
With the consent of the locals, the Panchkhal Municipality has started the process of making a smart city with the investment from Nepal Infrastructure Bank (NIFRA) through land pooling method. Mayor of Panchkhal Municipality Mahesh Kharel informed that they have a vision to build five smart cities in Panchkhal in the next 20 years. Under this concept, an agreement has been reached to invest Rs 2.5 billion in the first phase. He said that the locals are ready to give their land for the smart city on condition that those lands remain registered in their names.
Residents of Smart City Panchkhal will provide land for development of roads, parks and other structures. "A maximum of 30 to 35 percent of the land of the locals will be used for this purpose," Kharel said adding, "Besides, they will get back the land." The land will be under their own names, except for the ones used to make the structures. He said that a tripartite agreement would be reached between the bank, municipality and locals for developing this land.
Nepal Infrastructure Bank Limited (NIFRA) has reached an agreement with a US-based company, JLL, to carry out a detailed study of the market for a Smart City project in Panchkhal Municipality of Kavrepalanchok district. JLL has been given two months’ time for the work.   
The municipality has imposed a complete ban on building houses in the paddy fields in Panchkhal so as not to destroy the cultivable land even after developing the smart city. "Smart cities will be developed in non-irrigated and non-cultivated areas," said Kharel adding, “The project does not have any concept of building a smart city on arable land and farms, but plans to save cultivable land, move settlements to the hills and develop Panchkhal as an alternative to Kathmandu.”
“The company, which has developed DPRs in developed cities like Indonesia and Singapore, is now developing DPR in Panchkhal as well,” he said adding, “The city will be made a high-tech city by incorporating the basics of smart city, while managing the unorganized slums.”
Five cities will be developed within Panchkhal. He said that the investment is projected to be Rs 2.5 billion for the first phase of the first smart city. 
"It will take 50 years to build a smart city or develop infrastructure with the central government's budget," he said adding, “That is why the process of investing and developing it through the public-private partnership (PPP) model has been taken forward. The entire investment will be mobilized by NIFRA. After the investment of NIFRA, the land will be developed in the name of the locals by signing an agreement with the locals.”
He said that the concept of developing smart cities and settlements by acquiring land has failed in many places. That is why the land of the locals will be in the name of the locals. The local’s land will be developed with the investment of NIFRA and coordination of the municipality.