Kathmandu, Feb. 24 -- billion-rupee Damak Industrial Park in Jhapa, which was later renamed the Nepal-China Friendship Industrial Park, is in the spotlight after former Kathmandu mayor Balen Shah, who is contesting against CPN-UML chairman and former prime minister KP Oli, dropped it from his election manifesto released on Monday.

The project is part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), an ambitious multi-continent infrastructure programme initiated by Chinese President Xi Jinping. In February 2021, Oli laid the foundation stone of the project in the district's Kamal Rural Municipality.

The mega project falls within the Jhapa-5, Oli's own electoral constituency, which has become the centre of attention both in and outside Nepal since ...