What the 21st century Economic Roadmap really means

Coinciding with the 45th birth anniversary of His Majesty The King, the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Employment, Lyonpo Namgyal Dorji soft launched the 21st century Bhutan Economic Roadmap.

However, what does the Economic Roadmap really mean between the few pages of press releases and the bullet points in them shared widely online by the official government Facebook accounts and media houses.

To find out, the paper talked to one of the key people involved in drafting the Roadmap.

The official first of all made it clear that the Roadmap is for the rest of Bhutan and does not include the Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC) which will have its own trajectory. However, the GMC will be looked at as a source of investment or a destination for investments to go to.

The heart of the document is the eight priority sectors that have the greatest potential to drive economic benefits for Bhutan.

One is tourism which talks of reinventing Bhutan’s high-value, low-volume tourism model to attract premium markets and develop new tourism offerings, such as wellness and adventure tourism.

Here the official explained that the focus will be on addressing seasonality as currently Bhutan’s lean season ironically coincides with the holiday season in the west. The aim is also to see that with the flights to Dubai if people from the Middle-East can be encouraged to come for short weekend trips to Bhutan. The focus is also on developing new products and increasing arrival.

Another is the Services Sector where the focus is on developing Living and Wellness hubs eventually evolving into healthcare services, international education services hubs, and business process outsourcing (BPO/KPO) capabilities serving multiple sectors.

The official said that the above means that international private hospitals will be allowed in Bhutan aimed at wellness and medical tourism but there will be adequate safeguards placed to ensure that Bhutanese public health care does not suffer. On the danger of government doctors joining private hospitals the official said other countries have models like mandating certain public hours of service to practice privately.

On the idea of having international schools the official acknowledged that regulations will have to be tweaked on dress code or visas for parents as long as it does not affect key things like national security.

The official said that the seven points in strategic enablers of growth mainly to do with removing red tape and having a more enabling business and investment environment will come into play here.

In manufacturing the focus is on investing in engineered wood production and sustainable forestry products, high-end agri-processing, pharmaceuticals, and R&D-driven industrial manufacturing.

Here the official said the Thimphu-Paro regional plan and Thimphu Structural plan encourages use of pre-engineered Mass Timber for construction and GMC will also be using it plus it can also be exported. The official said that such things will help with Bhutanese youth to get employment and move up the professional value chain. Pharmaceuticals manufacturing will be linked to medical tourism and is valued due to its eco-friendly and high value processing.

R&D-driven industrial manufacturing will be using applied research for manufacturing.

A key focus of the roadmap is strengthening Bhutan’s core industries, including hydropower, agriculture, and tourism. The plan aims to expand hydropower capacity to 25,000 MW by 2050 while diversifying into alternative renewable energy sources.

Dasho Chhewang Rinzin, the Managing Director of Druk Green Power Corporation said, “We will be working with the government to achieve the expansion of hydropower capacity over the course of 10 years.”

There is a renewable energy roadmap being finalized and DGPC is actively taking part in the discussions. DGPC’s strategic partnerships with TATA and other companies are also a part of this roadmap. Currently, strategic partnerships allow up to 49% private investment or FDI whereas in solar, there is no cap on ownership by the private sector or FDI. Other financing instruments such as bonds are also being explored.

Agriculture will be transformed into a high-value, organic, and export-driven sector.

In addition to reinforcing traditional industries, the roadmap prioritizes emerging sectors such as the digital economy, services, manufacturing, mining, and energy. Investments in digital infrastructure will support AI-ready data centers and technology-driven enterprises, while mining and mineral processing will explore critical resource materials (CRMs) with an environmentally sustainable approach.

To implement this vision, the government will pursue strategic enablers, including policy reforms, infrastructure development, human capital enhancement, and investment promotion.

Under this Human capital development will aim to develop a deep talent pool within Bhutan to address existing and emerging skill gaps.

Here the official said that changes here are already being made in schooling and higher education with revamping of the curriculum and also options after class 10 and 12. Here he said experts recommend that the current model of students in vocational institutes just being there for a number of years has to be done away with and instead they can be trained and learn while doing jobs too.

In terms of cutting red tape the official said that the PM on the first day had issued an order to cut red tape and so the MoICE has identified 200 rules that need to be done away with or eased. The PM in March will sit with various stakeholders so that these rules can be done away with or modified. Given that Bhutan will be doing new things the need of the hour is also to create new regulations and systems.

A Vision Delivery Unit under the Office of Cabinet Affairs and Strategic Coordination will oversee execution, ensuring alignment with national priorities.

To ensure private sector development and investment promotion supported by initiatives to create an enabling business environment, identify growth opportunities, and attract investments, the new idea is for SOEs and DHI to not look at profit only but also look at handhold the private sector and help them to go regional and global.

The official said that some may say that why is the road map needed when the 13th plan is there but he said while some of the things in the roadmap are in the plan the 13th plan is only for 3 to 4 more years and the roadmap is for a longer period. He said that future governments can tweak it and strengthen but it will also serve as a guide to them with the 10x target.

The official said that the Roadmap had a steering committee chaired by the PM and including the Opposition Leader, RMA Governor, Finance Ministry and DHI to guide the roadmap.

The vision document is an initiative of the Royal Government of Bhutan supported by UNDP under the BOLD project. It was led by Mr. Dorji Wangchuk from UK, Independent Advisor to the Office of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (pro-bono), and Mr. Vjaceslavs Dombrovskis, UNDP International Consultant. The effort was supported by UNDP Bhutan, the Office of Cabinet Affairs and Strategic Coordination, and invaluable contributions from stakeholders who shared their expertise and insights in envisioning a developed Bhutan.

The roadmap, known as the 10X National Economic Vision, responds to His Majesty’s call for economic self-reliance and resilience. It outlines strategies to increase Bhutan’s real GDP tenfold by 2050 and develop a knowledge-based economy while upholding the principles of Gross National Happiness (GNH). Speaking at the launch, Lyonpo Namgyal Dorji emphasized that the vision would strengthen Bhutan’s core industries while expanding into high-growth sectors, positioning the country for long-term prosperity.