[KATHMANDU, AUGUST 12 2010] The Federation of Handicraft Associations of Nepal (FHAN) has blamed the government for the delay in the construction of a handicraft village that was planned almost six years ago. FHAN officials said that the government had failed to provide the necessary land for the project. FHAN had demanded 200 ropanis of land in Kathmandu, preferably within a 25-km radius of Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA). FHAN president Bikash Ratna Dhakhwa said that the government had been dillydallying though the plan had been announced in the budget speech six years ago. According to Dhakhwa, the village could be built within five years if the association had the land. “Construction of factories in the village will not take more than two years,” he said. The association plans to build 100 factories inside the village which it says will provide direct employment to more than 7,000 people. “The factories inside the village will be set up in a cluster,” said Dhakhwa. “Various handicraft products like metal crafts, handmade Nepali paper, woollen and silk carpets, gems and jewellery, gold and silver, carved wood, pottery and ceramics, stone carvings, pashmina and garments of natural fabrics will be made there,” he added. Similarly, the village will house banks and government offices to provide entrepreneurs easy access to finance and ensure timely delivery of their goods, Dhakhwa said. He added that the village would also be developed as a tourist attraction with restaurants and traditional products on display.