KATHMANDU: The government has prioritised infrastructural development with many new projects of road construction, upgradation and other structures launched and ongoing.
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File - Vehicles are seen stranded at Kaalikholi along Narayangadh-Muglin road section in Chitwan district, on Saturday, August 20, 2017. Photo: RSS[/caption]
The East-West Highway and Muglin-Pokhara Highway are being upgraded to four lanes, and the construction of a flyover at Gwarko in Lalitpur, and a tunnelway in Siddhababa has started.
Similarly, the construction of a signature bridge at Narayangadh bazaar along the Mahendra Highway, and the upgrading of the Muglin-Pokhara road and Nagdhunga-Naubise-Muglin road have begun, according to Sushil Babu Dhakal, Director General of the Department of Roads (DoR).
The government will also construct flyovers, install traffic lights, and expand and upgrade roads in the Kathmandu Valley, said Dhakal.
Expansion of the Suryabinayak-Dhulikhel road has been also started, said Bhimarjun Adhikari, Joint Secretary and Spokesperson of the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport (MoPIT). "The construction of the Kakarbhitta-Laukahi road and the Kamala-Dhalkebar road will begin soon," Adhikari said. The government has prioritised the construction, upgradation and repair of the country's highways, he added.
It is noted that the national pride projects will miss the deadline as the projects could not be completed due to Covid 19 pandemic and other obstructions.
According to Spokesperson Adhikari, the Mid Hill Highway and the Postal Highway construction will not meet the deadline as planned and it is necessary to reschedule the target time of the projects.
In the case of the Mid Hill Highway, only 42 kilometres (km) of the road section have been tarmacked followed by the construction of four bridges while only 36km of the Postal Highway have been tarmacked followed by the construction of seven bridges.
Among the North-South Corridor, the Kaligandaki Corridor reports much progress with the tarmacking of 10km of road along with the completion of four bridges. It also reports the construction of a 30-km gravel road. A 3.5-km track has been opened along the corridor while a 38-km track has been widened.
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Representative image: A vehicle is seen along a road on the bank of Tamor River at Majhitar in Phidim district, on March 26, 2022. Photo: Sandip Tamrakar/Facebook[/caption]
The Koshi Corridor witnesses the construction of a 15-km gavel road along with the construction of one bridge.
Madan Bhandari Highway Construction Project reports the construction of a 265-km road. In the current fiscal year, additional 6km of road has been blacktopped. It is said 99, out of 185 bridges along the highway, have been completed.
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File - Vehicles and equipment are seen at the site of the under-construction Nagdhunga tunnel, on Friday, February 12, 2021. The tunnel road is expected to ease the traffic congestion seen along the Naubise-Nagdhunga section of the Tribhuvan Highway. Photo: RSS[/caption]
Three underpasses, four culverts, one overpass, and three bridges have been completed under Nagdhunga Tunnel Construction Project while under Narayangadh-Butwal road project, 28 small bridges have been completed followed by the construction of three major bridges.
[caption id="attachment_29136" align="alignnone" width="1000"]
This undated image shows the aerial view of vehicles plying Narayangadh-Butwal road section of East-West Highway.[/caption]
Likewise, seven small bridges have been constructed along the Muglin-Pokhara Road and so far the progress is around 30%.
MoPIT Joint Secretary said there are no problems in programmes included in the 'Red Book', however, there is budget problem in other projects. The national pride projects have no budget problems.
The progress of the Department of Roads should be above 60% to 65% so far, but the progress is below it, he shared. Before the pandemic, the progress of the Ministry used to be around 80% while the progress of the projects invested by the Government of Nepal was more than 90% and that of projects run under foreign investment was around 80%.
According to him, the progress of projects has become low since the beginning of the pandemic. The progress was 57% in the last fiscal year 2021/22 and 67% in the fiscal year 2020/21. The MoPIT has forwarded activities to formulate necessary laws for the establishment of Transport Authority.
Spokesperson Adhikari shared that the draft of the regulations of the Transport Authority has already been prepared and sent to the Ministry of Finance for consent. It will be sent to the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs after consent from Finance Ministry before its presentation in the cabinet after receiving consent from the Law Ministry, he added.
According to the Transport Ministry, construction of a 2km railway track bed and two railway bridges along the East-West Electric Railway was completed last year.
A 54-km track bed was prepared and construction of seven railway bridges has been completed so far, according to the Department of Railways. Director General of the Department, Rohit Kumar Bisural, said construction is underway only at the Bardibas-Nijgadh section.
[caption id="attachment_21666" align="alignnone" width="1000"]
Locals gather to see the train scheduled to arrive at Janakpur Railway station from Jaynagar, India after Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi jointly inaugurated Jaynagar-Kurtha Railway Service virtually from Hyderabad House in New Delhi, India, on Saturday, April 2, 2022. Photo: RSS[/caption]
Out of the railways constructed with the support of Indian government, railway tracks from Bathanaha of India to the Customs Office, Biratnagar, and Jaynagar-Bijulpura have been completed, he added.
[caption id="attachment_19302" align="alignnone" width="1000"]
File - A view of a train along Jaynagar-Kurtha railway track in Dhanusha district, on January 18, 2021. Photo: RSS[/caption]
"Railway service is in operation from Jaynagar to Kurtha," he mentioned, adding the report of the study of Raxaul-Kathmandu railway is yet to be received. A feasibility study of Kathmandu-Kyirong railway is underway.
By RSS
READ ALSO:
File - Vehicles are seen stranded at Kaalikholi along Narayangadh-Muglin road section in Chitwan district, on Saturday, August 20, 2017. Photo: RSS[/caption]
The East-West Highway and Muglin-Pokhara Highway are being upgraded to four lanes, and the construction of a flyover at Gwarko in Lalitpur, and a tunnelway in Siddhababa has started.
Similarly, the construction of a signature bridge at Narayangadh bazaar along the Mahendra Highway, and the upgrading of the Muglin-Pokhara road and Nagdhunga-Naubise-Muglin road have begun, according to Sushil Babu Dhakal, Director General of the Department of Roads (DoR).
The government will also construct flyovers, install traffic lights, and expand and upgrade roads in the Kathmandu Valley, said Dhakal.
Expansion of the Suryabinayak-Dhulikhel road has been also started, said Bhimarjun Adhikari, Joint Secretary and Spokesperson of the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport (MoPIT). "The construction of the Kakarbhitta-Laukahi road and the Kamala-Dhalkebar road will begin soon," Adhikari said. The government has prioritised the construction, upgradation and repair of the country's highways, he added.
It is noted that the national pride projects will miss the deadline as the projects could not be completed due to Covid 19 pandemic and other obstructions.
According to Spokesperson Adhikari, the Mid Hill Highway and the Postal Highway construction will not meet the deadline as planned and it is necessary to reschedule the target time of the projects.
In the case of the Mid Hill Highway, only 42 kilometres (km) of the road section have been tarmacked followed by the construction of four bridges while only 36km of the Postal Highway have been tarmacked followed by the construction of seven bridges.
Among the North-South Corridor, the Kaligandaki Corridor reports much progress with the tarmacking of 10km of road along with the completion of four bridges. It also reports the construction of a 30-km gravel road. A 3.5-km track has been opened along the corridor while a 38-km track has been widened.
[caption id="attachment_22298" align="alignnone" width="1000"] Representative image: A vehicle is seen along a road on the bank of Tamor River at Majhitar in Phidim district, on March 26, 2022. Photo: Sandip Tamrakar/Facebook[/caption]
The Koshi Corridor witnesses the construction of a 15-km gavel road along with the construction of one bridge.
Madan Bhandari Highway Construction Project reports the construction of a 265-km road. In the current fiscal year, additional 6km of road has been blacktopped. It is said 99, out of 185 bridges along the highway, have been completed.
[caption id="attachment_21855" align="alignnone" width="1000"] File - Vehicles and equipment are seen at the site of the under-construction Nagdhunga tunnel, on Friday, February 12, 2021. The tunnel road is expected to ease the traffic congestion seen along the Naubise-Nagdhunga section of the Tribhuvan Highway. Photo: RSS[/caption]
Three underpasses, four culverts, one overpass, and three bridges have been completed under Nagdhunga Tunnel Construction Project while under Narayangadh-Butwal road project, 28 small bridges have been completed followed by the construction of three major bridges.
[caption id="attachment_29136" align="alignnone" width="1000"] This undated image shows the aerial view of vehicles plying Narayangadh-Butwal road section of East-West Highway.[/caption]
Likewise, seven small bridges have been constructed along the Muglin-Pokhara Road and so far the progress is around 30%.
MoPIT Joint Secretary said there are no problems in programmes included in the 'Red Book', however, there is budget problem in other projects. The national pride projects have no budget problems.
The progress of the Department of Roads should be above 60% to 65% so far, but the progress is below it, he shared. Before the pandemic, the progress of the Ministry used to be around 80% while the progress of the projects invested by the Government of Nepal was more than 90% and that of projects run under foreign investment was around 80%.
According to him, the progress of projects has become low since the beginning of the pandemic. The progress was 57% in the last fiscal year 2021/22 and 67% in the fiscal year 2020/21. The MoPIT has forwarded activities to formulate necessary laws for the establishment of Transport Authority.
Spokesperson Adhikari shared that the draft of the regulations of the Transport Authority has already been prepared and sent to the Ministry of Finance for consent. It will be sent to the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs after consent from Finance Ministry before its presentation in the cabinet after receiving consent from the Law Ministry, he added.
According to the Transport Ministry, construction of a 2km railway track bed and two railway bridges along the East-West Electric Railway was completed last year.
A 54-km track bed was prepared and construction of seven railway bridges has been completed so far, according to the Department of Railways. Director General of the Department, Rohit Kumar Bisural, said construction is underway only at the Bardibas-Nijgadh section.
[caption id="attachment_21666" align="alignnone" width="1000"] Locals gather to see the train scheduled to arrive at Janakpur Railway station from Jaynagar, India after Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi jointly inaugurated Jaynagar-Kurtha Railway Service virtually from Hyderabad House in New Delhi, India, on Saturday, April 2, 2022. Photo: RSS[/caption]
Out of the railways constructed with the support of Indian government, railway tracks from Bathanaha of India to the Customs Office, Biratnagar, and Jaynagar-Bijulpura have been completed, he added.
[caption id="attachment_19302" align="alignnone" width="1000"] File - A view of a train along Jaynagar-Kurtha railway track in Dhanusha district, on January 18, 2021. Photo: RSS[/caption]
"Railway service is in operation from Jaynagar to Kurtha," he mentioned, adding the report of the study of Raxaul-Kathmandu railway is yet to be received. A feasibility study of Kathmandu-Kyirong railway is underway.
By RSS
READ ALSO:
- Narayangadh-Muglin road to be closed from 11 am to 3 pm everyday for month
- Budget allocations to ministries and departments
- Govt warns to terminate contract of Narayangadh-Butwal road section
- Two bridges linking Karnali, Sudurpaschim provinces constructed
- Two-way traffic resumes along Narayangadh-Muglin road section
Published Date: April 17, 2023, 12:00 am
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