20 March 2006: China and Nepal will jointly launch a border inspection mapping operation, the third time in history. The two countries will apply GPS to survey the border marks. The major mapping work will be done by Chinese workers and then workers from Nepal will check the mapping data and results. The Surveying and Mapping Bureau of Shaanxi, from northwest China, has been appointed to take the task and will form the main body of the China team. The first batch of mapping workers are scheduled to arrive in the China-Nepal border area next month and all the outdoor surveying is planned to finish by the end of September. It is expected that the final mapping outcome will be unveiled by the end of 2007. The two nations signed the boundary agreement in 1961 and carried out border inspection mapping in 1978 and 1988 respectively.
