JICA Nepal will be providing technical assistance to Lalitpur Metropolitan City for building the Guita Domar Disaster Management Park in Lalitpur as a part of its “Quick Impact Project” program.

The ground breaking ceremony for the Disaster Management Park was conducted jointly by Chiribabu Maharjan Mayor of Lalitpur Metropolitan City and Jun Sakuma-Chief Representative of JICA Nepal amidst a function in Guitole, Lalitpur.

According to a press release issued by JICA, the primary purposes of building such parks are to provide temporary evacuation space and to support rescue activities with appropriate disaster management facilities.

At the Guita Domar Disaster management Park, a two-store building for a disaster management center will be constructed, along with a toilet, one amphitheater, 20 units of toilet, 3 septic tanks and soak pit, an 80,000-liter surface water tank and a 1,500-liter water tank separately for the toilets. In addition, some equipment for emergency responses will be provided. The total construction cost of the park is approximately NPR 27 million and it is expected to be completed by September 2018.

Speaking at the event Chiribabu Maharjan- Mayor of Lalitpur Metropolitan City thanked the Government of Japan and JICA for this valuable contribution in developing the city of Lalitpur. He further stated that this project is a positive start to other development initiatives to come.

The idea of making an emergency evacuation space in urban areas was proposed in the “Kathmandu Valley Resilience Plan” prepared by JICA Project which outlined the Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) measures against future earthquakes. In addition, the plan also includes plans for developing emergency road networks, ensuring safety of bridges and housing & other buildings.

Among a wide range of post-earthquake reconstruction and recovery assistance, JICA Nepal has undertaken reconstruction of small public infrastructures through “Quick Impact Projects (QIPs)” implemented by the “Project on Rehabilitation and Recovery from Nepal Earthquake” which aims to build earthquake resilient structures with enhanced functionalities based on the ‘Build Back Better’ principle.

Another objective of the ‘Quick Impact Project’ is to strengthen the DRR capacities of local governments in Nepal and the construction of this park is expected to fulfill this purpose. During the event JICA reaffirmed its commitment towards supporting earthquake recovery for building resilient Nepal and further strengthening ties between Nepal and Japan.