We’re thrilled to announce the addition of Rapti, Nepal, to our community! A Memorandum of Understanding was recently signed on local authorities and a kick-off workshop held.

Together, we’ll build a safer Rapti!

Tomorrow’s Cities Hub has joined hands with the Provincial Infrastructure Development Authority (PIDA), Lumbini Province, Nepal for deployment of our Decision Support Environment in Rapti. PIDA’s CEO Chhabi Raj Pokhrel and Prof. John McCloskey Tomorrow’s Cities Co-Director signed a Memorandum of Understanding in the presence of Mr. Indrajit Tharu, Member of the Provincial Assembly, the Mayor of Shitaganga Municipality and chairs from Rapti & Gadhawa Rural Municipalities. Secretary Amrit Shrestha from the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure Development and Secretary Zakki Ahmad Ansari from the Ministry of Water Supply, Rural and Urban Development also joined the ceremony.

MoU signing ceremony.

“We have an opportunity to develop our city for future generations, it is our responsibility to lay a strong foundation for tomorrow’s Rapti and this collaboration with Tomorrow’s Cities will help us doing that.”

Indrajit Tharu, Rapti Constituency Representative and former Minister for Physical Infrastructure Development.

Address by Lawmaker Mr. Indrajit Tharu from Lumbini Province.

“This collaboration with Tomorrow’s Cities, provides a unique opportunity of having international experts collaborating with our local authorities in shaping our provincial capital city planning, so that we make it resilient to all types of hazards and reduce disaster risk.”

Chhabi Raj Pokhrel, PIDA’s CEO.

Address by Chhabi Raj Pokhrel, PIDA’s CEO.

Prof. John McCloskey highlighted the need of considering multi-hazards risk while planning city development and laid out the foundation on how the Hub envisions to support Rapti in reducing its disaster risk.

“Together we will work in making Tomorrow’s Rapti disaster resilient. For that, our research team will work with local stakeholders in creating various options based on different scenarios and associated risks, so that the city’s authorities can then choose and implement solutions with minimal disaster risk.”

Prof. John McCloskey, Tomorrow’s Cities Co-Director.

Chairperson Prakash Bista from Rapti Rural Municipality

Addressing the signing ceremony, Mayor Chhabilal Paudel from Shitaganga Municipality stressed the importance of considering major hazards such as earthquakes, floods, landslides, and fires while planning the development of Rapti. In its turn, chairperson Prakash Bista from Rapti Rural Municipality highlighted the need to develop a disaster resilient Rapti, and his satisfaction to have international expertise to support this effort. Chairperson Yam Narayan Sharma Pokhrel from Gadhawa Rural Municipality stressed the importance of disseminating and raising awareness of the city development activities at community level.

The signing ceremony was covered by the Nepal Television and the Naya Yugbodh National Daily

Mayor Chhabilal Paudel from Shitaganga Municipality

Courtesy visit to the Chief Minister of Lumbini Province.

Together with Chhabi Raj Pokhrel, CEO of PIDA, the Tomorrow’s Cities visiting team also met Chief Minister Dilli Bahadur Chaudhary, Chief Minister of Lumbini Province and the Secretary Rajendra Thapa from the Office of Chief Minister and Council of Ministers. In the meeting our researchers briefed the Chief Minister on how Tomorrow’s Cities will work together with local authorities to help Rapti become disaster resilient. Our team also heard some suggestions and guidance from the Chief Minister that will help shaping the future of the project in Rapti.

Chief Minister from Lumbini Province & officials with Tomorrow’s Cities team.

Workshop on City Scoping and Setup

As a kick-off event, a Workshop on City Scoping and Setup was held on May 11, 2023, and joined by nearly 60 participants from PIDA, the Rapti & Gadhawa Rural Municipalities & Shitaganga Municipality.

Tomorrow’s Cities Workshop on City Scoping and Setup.