The Bhutanese Leading the way.
With the Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC) officially declared and encompassing Sarpang Dzongkhag, Gelephu Thromde, 11 Gewogs in Sarpang, 3 Gewogs in Dagana (Lhamoizingkha, Karmaling, and Nichula) and 3 Gewogs in Zhemgang (Sonamthang, Panbang, and Tungkudemba) the next big question is what will happen to these local government offices like the Dzongda, Thrompon, Gup and others.
The GMC Governor Dasho Dr. Lotay Tshering said the above local governments will be allowed to complete their terms and there will be an announcement in the future on this regard.
It has been learnt that various options are being looked at in the governance structure in terms of the local government from letting it continue, to a hybrid model to an evolved model that may even set an example for the rest of the county. Nothing is finalized yet though.
The Governor said that things are continuing as it is currently, but his office is playing a coordinating role right now. He said there is no difference for the people and the change in the management system has to evolve gradually.
He said the maximum effect right now must be felt by people in and around Mao Khola which comes in Phase 1 of the project as they must be observing a lot of people coming and going and a lot of surveys going on. Dasho said there are no structural changes in the governance on the ground yet.
Things like planning, budgeting, education and health are continuing and the Gewog Tshogdes and Dzongkhag Tshogdu are meeting and doing their works. The Governor is also working and coordinating with them.
When it comes to Local Government terms, the term of the Thrompon of Gelephu along with those of Thimphu and Phuenthsoling will be over in early June 2026. When it comes to the Gewogs it will be over in February 2027.
The ECB is ready to form a delimitation commission which it anyhow must do every 10 years with the last one in 2017 and the next one due in 2027.
This commission consisting of ECB, Home Ministry, MoIT and National Land Commission will have the power to redraw the electoral boundaries in case a decision comes from the GMC. The ECB is awaiting orders on what to do before the next LG elections.
When it comes to hiring international and local staff who will be working in the GMC the GMC CEO’s office is setting up a Human Resource Committee that will give direction and formalize the recruitment system. The recruitments are expected to be a combination of head hunting and open announcements to get the best from across the world or in Bhutan.
Currently the Dungkhag office is Sarpang has been refashioned as the GMC office from where the Governor also operates.
On the ground the two main infrastructure projects are the international airport and the bridge over the Mao Khola.
The airport design is almost complete and the target is to start construction from the middle of next year. An announcement is expected to come out in terms of the funding of the airport.
There is then the other infrastructure like a replica of the Paro Dzong, the Boudhanath Chorten and school.
There are hotels, schools and golf courses in the pipeline and the investment arm for these are being identified.
When it comes to investment there are multiple workstreams in dialogue with many investors.
A source said that there is good movement on talks with investors and discussions are at an advanced stage in many conversations.
The source said, “We are working cautiously as we want to make sure we don’t rush too fast.”
There is a planned approach and currently the first milestone is complete with the Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) masterplan now finalized. Various constructions will start next year.
The discussions with potential investors and partners are on in all the 7 focus areas of Spiritual, Health and Wellness, Education and Knowledge, Agriculture-Tech and Forestry, Green Energy and Tech, Finance and Digital Assets and Aviation and Logistics.
The conversation is at various stages and some are more advanced than others and approach being taken by GMC is to be more strategic. The plan is not to have everything at one go.
Meanwhile, in a major development, His Majesty The King on 12th December named Ming Z. Mei a GMC Founding Member. Ming Z Mei’s family trust, Humble Holdings, will invest in projects integral to the City’s initial development stages (see full story on pg 3).
Ming Z. Mei is Co-Founder and CEO of GLP, a global leader in logistics real estate, data centres, renewable energy infrastructure, and related technologies.
Under his leadership, GLP has transformed the modern logistics industry through innovative and entrepreneurial strategies, expanding into adjacent sectors and new markets. The Group now owns and manages about US$120 billion of assets worldwide, with a focus on high-growth, high-resiliency new-economy sectors across Asia, Europe and the Americas.
