GMC is strategically focused on seven core industries, each playing a vital role in shaping the city’s future. These are education, finance, green energy and tech, health and wellness, spirituality, agri-tech and forestry and airport economy.
Education and Knowledge
The Education Cluster in the GMC is cornerstone of the city’s emerging knowledge economy, supporting and driving growth across all seven core clusters. Centered around higher education and technical learning institutions, this cluster will create a robust ecosystem of talent development, entrepreneurship, and research and development. The impact of this cluster extends beyond education as it fuels innovation and economic prosperity throughout the region.
Finance
GMC offers a gateway to three of the world’s largest economies – China, India, and Bangladesh. GMC offers avenues of investment into these economies through wealth management services to family offices and high net worth individuals.
Green Energy and Tech Industries
GMC’s accessibility to cheap and clean renewable energy provides a great opportunity to support ICT and digital industries. Bhutan’s proximity to the world’s largest ICT market (India) also provides incredibly opportunities to support niche markets in the ICT subsectors (green IT, crypto-mining, etc).
Health and Wellness
Bhutan’s untouched environment along with GMC’s core focus on mindfulness will help create a centre of physical and mental well-being through the establishment of world-class health and wellness centers, making GMC a leader in medical tourism, integrative medicine, and R&D.
Spirituality
Taking advantage of Bhutan’s incredibly rich culture and history, GMC will become a prominent centre of Vajrayana Buddhism with numerous major spiritual and religious projects currently in the pipeline by private donors, religious figureheads and His Majesty The King. The spiritual cluster will prove to be a great foundation for GMC’s tourism development strategy.
Agri-Tech and Forestry
GMC provides an opportunity to scale up the export-oriented Bhutan brand agri-food sector with the majority of the local workforce currently employed in the agriculture sector. The rise of laminated timber as an alternative construction material is also an opportunity for GMC to become a manufacturing, testing, expertise, and export hub.
Airport Economy
With the construction of the Gelephu International Airport already underway there is an immediate opportunity to establish an aviation and logistics hub serving the South Asian region, which has seen a surge in outbound tourism after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Why is Bhutan creating a Mindfulness City
Bhutan is embarking upon this undertaking to transform its economy, increase its level of participation in international markets, and generate opportunities for the next generation of Bhutanese. The Mindfulness City will be a sanctuary for global businesses and professionals who seek to combine sustainability, spiritual wellbeing, and commercial success. The project will proceed based on the philosophy of “Building with Nature” so that related structures are integrated with their pristine surroundings.
Mindfulness encompasses the broad range of values compatible with Bhutanese traditions and customs, which prioritise holistic personal wellbeing, peace, sustainability, and happiness. In the context of the Special Administrative Region (SAR), the global business community will see it as a sanctuary for a different kind of business – one that places equal emphasis on economic development and personal and community wellbeing.
Governance
GMC boasts autonomous executive, legislative, and judiciary systems that blends robust policies that build trust and accountability with mindful incentives designed to empower each residents and businesses to reach their fullest potential.
Infrastructure
GMC is built upon a foundation of world-class infrastructure, seamlessly integrating state-of-the-art technology with sustainable practices.
An international airport, advanced rail networks, and cutting-edge digital connectivity, all powered by 100% renewable energy, GMC ensures that every facet of life and business thrives in harmony with nature.
Objectives
Globally it is to provide a sanctuary for professionals and businesses who want to transform the world into a more equitable, sustainable, and humane place.
Regionally to create a tight-knit community that will drive the long-term economic and social development of South Asia.
Locally to provide Bhutanese in Bhutan and overseas with meaningful employment and education opportunities, transforming the country and driving economic growth in a sustainable manner.
Overall Strategy
The Mindfulness City will be developed in phases, each accompanied by increasingly advanced infrastructure and institutional development. Milestones of the initial phase will be the construction of a new international airport (which broke ground on 23 December), expanding connectivity – both logistical and digital – and upskilling or reskilling Bhutanese professionals.
Competitive Advantages
Bhutan is endowed with globally unique advantages in both material and spiritual ways. Materially, Bhutan boasts a pristine ecosystem, with unmatched natural beauty, clean air, biodiversity, and fertile land. The Bhutanese have a culture of hard work, high trust, and eagerness to grow.
Spiritually, Bhutan’s ancient culture is founded on the values of Buddhism that prioritise harmony, inner peace, tranquility, and happiness.
Incoming SAR residents can partake in both the benefits of living in a unique environment and the spiritual confidence of Bhutan’s Buddhist culture.
Together, these material and spiritual advantages will facilitate the development of strong, growth-oriented and environmentally and socially responsible corporate cultures
Location and funding
The Mindfulness City is a Special Administrative Region (SAR). The Mindfulness City will built in and around Gelephu in Sarpang district, in Southern Bhutan.
It’s total area of 2500 sq km will be determined based on a variety of cultural, social, environmental and business considerations.
The Mindfulness City will be funded through a range of domestic and international sources.
Sustainable leapfrogging
The Mindfulness City will be open to sustainable businesses that have the potential to develop Bhutan’s economy, provide employment opportunities for Bhutanese youth, and serve as bridges between the Mindfulness City and the rest of the world while operating in a manner that is compatible with Bhutanese culture and values.
Bhutan is in the process of leapfrogging into an advanced economy. The Mindfulness City is an important enabler of national development as it shares the best of Bhutan with the world and is attracting leading global enterprises and experts.
Private Sector role and workforce
The Bhutanese private sector will play an important role in the success of the Mindfulness City SAR, including during its building phase. The same criteria will apply to both Bhutanese and international businesses aiming to participate in the development, including strict KYC and AML requirements.
The Mindfulness City will provide gainful employment opportunities for Bhutanese, overseas Bhutanese, and international professionals, depending on the stage of development. The Mindfulness City undertaking is designed to serve Bhutanese and uplift Bhutan’s economy in all respects while sharing our unique culture and traditions with the rest of the world.
The Mindfulness City will be open to all Bhutanese. Global professionals who are employed or lead resident companies or offices can also live in the Mindfulness City and will have the opportunity to explore Bhutan’s unique biodiversity, natural beauty, and spiritual traditions.
A Team of Global Expertise
GMC’s development is guided by a group of world-renowned experts. These are as follows. MQDC- Magnolia Quality Development Corporation Limited as the Project Management Positioning.
BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group as Urban Design, Landscape, Architecture and Structure.
ARUP- Infrastructure Engineering for Mobility, Water, Energy and Digital Infrastructure.
CISTRI- Strategic Economics for Economics and Land-use Planning.
NACO Airspace Specialist for Airport Feasibility Study and Planning.
ERM Ecology Consultant for Wildlife and Ecological Preservation.
CDR Hydrology Consultant for River System, Flood Management, and Ecological Impact.
Global ECO Advisory Firm-Strategy and Communications for Public Relations, Strategy, And Communications Advisory.
