KATHMANDU, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- A solar-powered community bathroom and a rooftop photovoltaic power generation facility constructed in the Kathmandu Valley with Chinese aid were handed over to the local community on Friday.
The bathroom in Lalitpur, a city in the valley, has hot water generated by solar energy and three shower rooms for males and females, respectively, and can accommodate some 100 people per day.
The bathroom is described as a sustainable development project, as the waste water is filtered for storage to flush bathroom toilets, a shop serving customers generates income, and job opportunities are created.
The rooftop photovoltaic power generation facility nearby has 36 kilowatts in total installed capacity and is expected to generate around 60,000 kWh of electricity per year, providing green power to the bathroom and the community.
Addressing the handover ceremony, Lalitpur Mayor Chiri Babu Maharjan expressed his gratitude for "this state-of-the-art" bathroom facility.
"Thank you very much for your good assistance and support," he said. "Hopefully, there will be a lot of avenues where we can work together."
Insufficient water supply and frequent power outage are challenges facing the Kathmandu Valley and other parts of Nepal.
The community bathroom is the first under the "Happy Community" program launched by the Chinese Embassy in Nepal, noted Ambassador Chen Song.
The two projects were constructed under the public welfare program implemented by the Yunnan Commercial Representative Office in Kathmandu, Nepal.
The Chinese side is confident that it can implement more of such small yet smart people-centered programs which are popular with the Nepali people, Chen said at the handover ceremony.
In addition, the Chinese side has launched poverty reduction projects in rural Nepal, including cultivating vegetables in greenhouses, making clean drinking water available at schools and installing solar streetlights, added the ambassador. ■