Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC), one of the Himalayan kingdom’s boldest investment initiatives, underscores its abiding alliance with India, a regional powerhouse that favours Bhutan’s economic growth to counter China’s influence in the region. 

Bhutan’s King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck envisions GMC as a model for eco-friendly development. The city will incorporate artificial intelligence technologies and rely exclusively on renewable energy sources. The King has also announced the establishment of a Special Administrative Region (SAR) with executive autonomy and legal independence “to create a vibrant economic hub”. In future, Gelephu could thus emerge as a gateway to India and South Asia, somewhat like what Hong Kong or Singapore has been to China.  

Unlike other SEZs, Gelephu will host businesses screened and invited based on their respect for the Bhutanese way of life, sustainable and equitable development, and sovereignty. A local daily, The Bhutanese, reported that companies have expressed interest in bio-science, data centres, education besides energy projects in the Gelephu SAR. This includes leading Indian business houses.

The Adani Group has announced the signing of an agreement with Bhutan for a 570 MW green hydro plant, along with other infrastructure initiatives. In a post on X earlier in June, Gautam Adani, Chairman of the Adani Group, said after meeting the King that he was inspired by the latter's vision for Bhutan, as well as the "ambitious eco-friendly masterplan for Gelephu Mindfulness City, including large computing centres and data facilities", and is “excited to collaborate on these transformative initiatives, as also on green energy management for a carbon negative nation”.

A month later in July, the Bhutanese king and PM Tshering Tobgay visited Adani’s major infrastructure sites in Gujarat, including the mega 30 GW renewable energy site in Khavda and India’s largest commercial port at Mundhra. GMC has attracted interest from other Indian businesses too, like Anil Ambani’s Reliance Group, which recently committed to developing solar and hydro energy projects in Bhutan.

“So far, many international and Indian business leaders and investors who visited Bhutan have shown interest in the GMC project. However, their participation will be based on an invitation from the GMC,” Penday Dorji, economic counsellor at the Royal Bhutanese Embassy in Delhi, told The Secretariat. In addition to energy projects, discussions are in progress for constructing an international airport, with the Adani Group among those reportedly interested. The airport project, which is still in the planning phase, would upgrade Gelephu’s small airstrip, currently serving only a single turboprop aircraft.

Gelephu Business Areas 

The Gelephu project will see concerted development in three key areas: Energy, connectivity and skills. In hydropower, it hopes to attract investments through competitive regional pricing, while other energy sources like wind and solar will also be harnessed.

Bhutan is currently the first carbon-negative country, due to its forests and hydroelectric facilities, and exports most of its electricity to India. A new hydroelectric project is expected to be launched in Gelephu to power the new city.

An important feature of GMC will be the Sunkosh Dam, with a capacity of approximately 4,600 MW. Gelephu Governor Lotay Tshering, who served as Bhutan’s Prime Minister until 2023, was last week quoted as saying that hundreds of sites have been identified for renewable energy projects in the area. With an estimated capacity addition of 20 GW, the project aims to establish a sustainable energy network. This includes planned contracts for constructing roads, bridges and facilities that could attract investors from across Asia. Bhutan hopes to attract tech companies to Gelephu on the condition that they can accelerate the country’s transition to green energy. 

To improve connectivity, plans include creation of a new airport to accommodate larger capacity aircraft, along with development of digital infrastructure. Bhutan could also cooperate with India to connect the cities of the new special region to the Indian railway and road networks, including the first India-Bhutan rail link connecting Kokrajhar and Gelephu.

A third sector that Bhutan aims to develop in Gelephu is education. A new university, offering courses in philosophy, health and new technologies, is being planned. The goal is to attract foreign students, but also to retain Bhutanese students. GMC aims to provide its residents peace and mental well-being. While it does sound other-worldly, the fact that it is planned to come up in Bhutan — a landlocked country between India and China that famously chases Gross National Happiness as the country's showcase index — should not entirely evoke surprise and disbelief either.

The city is intended to be a carbon-negative economic hub and gateway for tourists, and will be designed to focus on mindfulness and sustainability. “The project will be implemented in a phased manner. To start with, the focus would be on the infrastructure and connectivity components,” Dorji, the economic counsellor at the Royal Bhutanese Embassy, said.       

Economic Factors Powering Gelephu

While announcing the creation of GMC, the Bhutanese King had said it would be the country’s economic hub — an opportunity to capitalise on the economic corridor linking South Asia to Southeast Asia. Trade between the two regions grew ninefold between 2000 to 2018, from US$ 38 billion to US$ 349 billion, according to the World Bank report ‘Deepening Linkages between South Asia and Southeast Asia’. Bhutan would utilise the land connectivity via Assam and Northeast India with Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore. 

Besides tapping the trade potential, the project also aims to reverse the migration of thousands of Bhutanese to countries like Australia. It is estimated that around 40,000 people out of a population of 7.5 lakh have left the country in recent years. In 2023 alone, an estimated 15,000 young Bhutanese obtained long-term visas for Australia to study and work there. Youth unemployment is high, reaching nearly 28 per cent in 2022, as there are insufficient opportunities for young people in the country. At Bhutan’s urban centres of Thimphu, Paro and Phuentsholing, opportunities have not grown in step with rising aspirations and dreams. GMC could create new opportunities and hopefully, reverse the trend. 

(The writer is a veteran journalist. Views expressed are personal)