To make travel faster and smoother, the government plans to widen and upgrade the Wangdue Phodrang-Gelephu Primary National Highway under the current Five-Year Plan. The Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport says the project will cut travel time to and from the Gelephu Mindfulness City. Infrastructure and Transport Minister Chandra Bdr. Gurung shared this at the Tsirang District Mid-Term meeting last week.
Currently, travel between Thimphu and Gelephu takes about seven hours. The highway includes sharp bends, narrow stretches, and uneven road conditions, making travel slow and tiring.
The minister said improving the highway has become urgent. He shared an experience of an investor who travelled from Thimphu to the Gelephu Mindfulness City by road but chose to return by air.
“Responding to my question, the investor told me, ‘It was a long drive and a short flight’. And that really struck me; it carries a deeper meaning even though it was said jokingly. From that conversation, I realised we must either reduce travel time to about four to five hours from the current seven hours by improving the highway. Otherwise, we must increase domestic flights, but we currently don’t have an adequate budget.”
The highway improvement will be carried out in phases. The first phase will cover the stretch from Wangdue Phodrang bridge to Waklaytar, the boundary between Wangdue Phodrang and Tsirang.
“I have informed the Prime Minister about the need to widen and upgrade the highway from Wangdue to Tsirang and then to Gelephu. In doing so, some districts may not be happy if certain road projects are not prioritised. However, what I feel is allocating for the highway improvement supports His Majesty The King’s noble initiative of the Gelephu Mindfulness City.”
Preliminary works for the first phase are expected to begin in the 2026-2027 financial year.
Once completed, the improved highway is expected to reduce travel time and handle the growing number of vehicles as development picks up in the Gelephu Mindfulness City.
Pema Tshewang, Tsirang
Edited by Sonam Pem
