KATHMANDU: A feasibility study has begun for the construction of a burn hospital in Pokhara, Nepal’s major tourism city. Pokhara Metropolitan City has advanced a plan to build a 100-bed burn and specialized hospital on the premises of the former Lekhnath Municipality office in Pokhara-27.
According to Mayor Dhanraj Acharya, the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) has agreed to support the project, and a technical team from the agency has arrived in Pokhara to begin consultations and assessments.
KOICA’s Country Director Muheon Kong is leading a delegation of 17 Korean experts from various fields. The team is currently holding consultations in Pokhara regarding technical, medical and infrastructural aspects required for the hospital.
“A specialized burn hospital in Pokhara is now certain,” Mayor Acharya said. “Once completed, residents of Pokhara and surrounding areas will have access to advanced treatment facilities with specialized services. KOICA’s high-level team has already started detailed studies.”
The need for a burn hospital in Pokhara became pressing following an incident on February 15, when a balloon explosion during the inauguration of Pokhara Visit Year 2025 left then Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Paudel and Mayor Acharya with burn injuries. Due to the lack of a dedicated burn hospital in Pokhara, both were transported to Kathmandu for treatment.
Following the incident, Mayor Acharya publicly announced the plan to build a well-equipped burn hospital in the city. The proposal has also been incorporated into the metropolitan city’s policies and programs for the current fiscal year.
According to the metropolis, Ward Office No. 27 has already been built on three ropani of the former Lekhnath Municipality land. Additionally, construction of a disaster management center on five ropani, supported by the Asian Development Bank, is underway.
The remaining 28 ropani of land will be developed as a specialized hospital complex, integrating burn care along with maternity and gynecology, pediatrics, trauma, nephrology, and other advanced medical services, the metropolis said.
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