Chukha district | |
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District | |
Map of Chukha District in Bhutan |
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Country | Bhutan |
Headquarters | Phuentsholing |
Area | |
• Total | 1,991 km2 (769 sq mi) |
Population (2005) | |
• Total | 74,387 |
• Density | 37/km2 (97/sq mi) |
Time zone | BTT (UTC+6) |
Coordinates: 27°0′N 89°30′E / 27.000°N 89.500°E
Chukha District (Dzongkhag: ཆུ་ཁ་རྫོང་ཁག་; Wylie: Chu-kha rdzong-khag; also spelled "Chhukha") is one of the 20 dzongkhag (districts) comprising Bhutan. The major town is Phuentsholing which is the gateway city along the sole road which connects India to western Bhutan (cf. Lateral Road). Chukha is the commercial and the financial capital of Bhutan. With Bhutan's oldest hydropower plant, Chukha hydel (completed in 1986-88), and Tala Hydroelectricity Project, the country's largest power plant, Chukha is the dzongkhag which contributes the most to the GDP of the country. Also located in Chukha district are some of the country's oldest industrial companies like the Bhutan Carbide Chemical Limited (BCCL) and the Bhutan Boards Products Limited (BBPL).
In Chukha, the main native languages are Dzongkha, the national language spoken by Ngalop people in the north, and Nepali in the south. The Bhutanese Lhokpu language, spoken by the Lhop minority, is also present in the southwest along the border with Samtse District.