The ownership and operation of the Butwal International Convention Centre (BICC) in Butwal, Rupandehi, were formally handed over to the Special Structure Operation and Management Development Committee at a programme on October 29, 2026. The transfer was attended by Dilip Bhandari, Director General of the Department of Urban Development and Building Construction, and Madhu Aryal, adviser to the Minister for Infrastructure Development. The centre had remained stalled for four years before the handover.
Handover under the formation order
Senior Divisional Engineer Kirtikant Sah said the transfer was carried out in accordance with the Special Structure Operation and Management Development Committee Formation Order, 2081. The committee is now responsible for the centre’s ownership and operation, formalising a management arrangement for the facility after the prolonged period in which it had remained stalled.
The handover marks a change in the centre’s administrative status. Rather than leaving its ownership and operation unresolved, the transfer places both with the committee established under the formation order. The programme brought together officials involved in urban development and infrastructure, including Bhandari and Aryal, for the formal transfer.
Four years of stalled status
The BICC had remained stalled for four years before the handover. The transfer therefore addresses a long-standing gap in the centre’s management by placing responsibility with a designated committee. The available information does not specify the reasons the facility remained stalled, the precise period covered by those four years, or whether the handover included any additional operational arrangements.
The centre is located in Butwal, in Rupandehi district. Its transfer to the committee is the key development reported in the handover programme. While the ownership and operating responsibility have now been formally assigned, no details were provided about a reopening date, a schedule of events, or the services the centre will offer.
Officials present at the programme
Bhandari attended in his capacity as Director General of the Department of Urban Development and Building Construction. Aryal participated as an adviser to the Minister for Infrastructure Development. Sah, a Senior Divisional Engineer, confirmed that the transfer followed the committee’s formation order.
The formal handover establishes the committee as the body responsible for the BICC’s ownership and operation. The four-year stalled period makes the transfer a significant administrative step for the facility, though the information available does not set out what the committee’s immediate next steps will be. No further operational timeline or specific plans were announced in the details provided about the programme.
The handover was conducted under the provisions of the 2081 formation order, linking the transfer to the committee’s established mandate. With responsibility formally assigned, the centre’s future operation will fall under the committee’s management. Further information about when the facility will become active or how it will be managed was not included in the announcement.
