May play host to SAARC heads of state
Ministers, et al, will move in six months after earlier October 2009 deadline
31 May, 2009 – The Nu 455m enclave, popularly called the minister’s enclave, is being prepared for the first SAARC summit in Bhutan in April 2010, which means that the cabinet ministers will not move into their new homes in Motithang this year.
Foreign minister Lyonpo Ugyen Tshering said that only one major hotel had come up since 1998 when it was Bhutan’s turn to host the summit. “We need to use the facilities available to have enough space to host the meeting,” he said. The ministry is expecting about 300 people for the summit. “The ministers’ complex is near completion and so the government decided to expedite the finishing and furnishing of the quarters for the summit.”
After much delay in the completion of the 25-acre enclave site, officials of the national housing and development corporation (NHDC) had earlier said that the ministers would formally move into their new homes by October this year.
“We looked at the housing situation and we don’t have much choice,” said Lyonpo Ugyen Tshering.
He said that the history of the enclave and SAARC summit had always been intertwined. “When it was Bhutan’s turn to be the host in 1998, we discussed that we would build a complex, which would be used to host the head of states and later use it as ministers’ quarters,” he said. “But, neither did we host nor were the buildings built.”
During the SAARC conference and the period leading up to it, the prime minister’s bungalow will be used as a ‘central service facility,’ where all services would be provided to those staying in the compound, according to the minister. “We have to ensure that both the meeting and services go smoothly,” he said.
As the prime minister would not be moving into his official home, the bungalow would then be used as a state guest house till Kuengachholing state guesthouse is redeveloped, said the foreign minister. “We have plans for major construction of the Kuengachholing guesthouse,” he said.
Apart from the ministers, there are also bungalows for the five constitutional post holders, the chief justice, the national council chairman, the national assembly speaker and the opposition leader.
Lyonpo Ugyen Tshering said that landscaping of the enclave site has already begun and furnishing and interior work would start soon. The government has over Nu 10m in their budget for interior and furnishing. The meeting would be held at the SAARC building and the banquet hall in Thimphu, and the national assembly hall would be used for the opening and closing ceremonies.
“It’s a good time for Bhutan to take on the responsibility to host the summit because we’re ready,” said the foreign minister
Source: Kuenselonline