Buddhist Bhutan to build ‘mindfulness city’ to woo investment, create jobs

Bhutan, the Himalayan kingdom that brought the world the concept of gross national happiness (GNH), is set to build a "mindfulness city" and began raising funds on Monday to help start the ambitious project.

The "Gelephu Mindfulness City" (GMC) will lie in a special administrative region with separate rules and laws that will aim to be an economic corridor linking south Asia to southeast Asia, officials said.

The city will promote walking and cycling to reduce emissions, green spaces for meditation and relaxation, mindfulness-based education, public community activities, health care and wellness centres and eco-tourism.

GMC will be spread over an area of more than 2,500km² on the border with giant neighbour India and offer space to businesses in finance, tourism, green energy, technology, health care, agriculture, aviation, logistics, education and spirituality.

A Bhutanese sovereign development body announced on Monday the launch of a fixed-term deposit programme to raise funds from non-resident Bhutanese to help build an international airport and other foundational infrastructure in GMC.

"This is more than a financial opportunity. It is a call to contribute to and actively shape our shared vision for a thriving, mindful and resilient Bhutan," said Ujjwal Dahal, CEO of sovereign body Gelephu Investment and Development Corporation.

The GMC website last week said it was launching a 10-year "nation building bond" to raise $100m (R1.7bn). However, GMC officials told Reuters on Monday there was no bond issuance to private individuals nor was there a set fund-raising target for the entire exercise, without elaborating.

GMC's goal is to attract investment, develop skills and create jobs in the Buddhist-majority country known for its GNH index, an economic gauge that counts factors ignored by gross domestic product measures, such as recreation, emotional well-being and the environment.

A country of less than 800,000 people wedged between Asian giants India and China, Bhutan has been struggling to boost its $3bn (R53.2bn) economy, which is heavily reliant on aid, hydropower and tourism, and was badly hit by Covid-19 restrictions.

Employment woes, with youth unemployment touching nearly 30% in 2022, triggered an exodus of young people seeking opportunities abroad, with thousands moving to Australia alone.

GMC will be built in phases and is expected to be completed in 21 years, officials said, with private partners investing in roads, bridges, an airport, houses, schools, hospitals and businesses.

Authorities expect about 150,000 people to live there in the first seven to 10 years and more than 1-million when it is complete.

The brainchild of King Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuck, GMC was proposed last year as a city that would encompass "conscious and sustainable businesses, inspired by Buddhist spiritual heritage" and anchored on the values of GNH.

"Mindfulness is at the core of our values-based city and aligns with the ethos and identity of our nation," said Rabsel Dorji, a senior GMC official.

The GMC website says the project is based on Bhutan’s Buddhist heritage and culture, its stress on happiness, well-being and mindfulness. It also incorporates eco-friendly architecture in what is the world's first carbon-negative country, one that absorbs more carbon than it produces.

India, Bhutan’s biggest economic and trade partner and donor, is supportive of the project and would extend its roads and railway network to the border to connect GMC, officials said.

GMC is a "smart move" but connectivity could pose a serious challenge to landlocked Bhutan, said Surya Raj Acharya, an infrastructure and urban planning expert in neighbouring Nepal.

"Developing the city as a competitive production hub also depends on connectivity to global logistics," Acharya said, adding  access to ports will depend on Indian infrastructure.

"It should also be attractive to international investors. These are factors not under Bhutan’s control."