The Nepal Telecom (NT) is making preparations to construct one of the tallest buildings in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) region.

Once completed, "the building will be the pride of the nation," Sugat Ratna Kansakar, managing director of the NT, a state-run telecom company, told reporters here on Friday.

"We have been preparing the design of the building," he said, adding that efforts were on to receive permission from the Nepal Electricity Authority, Nepal Drinking Water Corporation and the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN).

According to Kansakar, the cabinet in a meeting held last week had given the NT permission to construct the building.

The building to be constructed at the Jawalakhel NTC compound in Kathmandu will have 30 to 35 storeys.

Transmission systems of the Nepal Telecom will be installed on top of the proposed building.

The Nepal Telecom is yet to estimate the cost and time needed to construct the building, Kansakar said.

SAARC groups Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Source: Xinhua