Kathmandu, Jan 4: Five years has been elapsed since the start of the construction, the Narayanghat-Butwal road has seen only 44 percent progress. Negligence on the part of the Chinese construction company is blamed.
In 2075 BS, the China State Construction Engineering Corporation Limited was awarded the contract to widen the road with the three years of completion deadline. But despite the extension of the deadline two times, the project has got only 44 percent progress.
As a result of the delay, the road turns muddy during rainy season and dusty in the dry season, affecting the local people. Dust particles emanating from the dusty road have affected the health of the local people, who are forced to deal with the problem daily.
The latest deadline for completing the Rs 16.9 billion project will expire in mid-July 2024. However, the contractor has said only 70 percent of the work will be completed till then.
Despite the government putting pressure, the contractor is working to meet the deadline, it has been said. The contractor is said to be preparing to extend the deadline for the third time.
Under the project, road expansion on the 65 km Narayanghat-Daunne and 49 km Daunne-Butwal is underway. So far, only about 40 percent of the work has been completed in the eastern and western sections.
Work on small bridges in the eastern section has been completed, and sub-structure work of 11 of the 12 large bridges has been completed, said Dhiraj Dhakal, engineer and information officer for the office to oversee the eastern section of the road project.
“In the eastern section, around 50 percent of the work of moving the electric poles has been completed. There is a delay in the bazaar and office areas as electricity should be shut to move electric poles. So discontinuing electricity in the areas causes a problem. So the work of moving electric poles should be done only on holidays,” he said.
A contract was reached with the China State Engineering Corporation Limited by dividing the 115 km road project from the Narayani river bridge to Butwal into two sections. The road will be expanded into six lanes in the settlement areas, four lanes in forest areas and three lanes in Daunne hill areas.
The Asian Development Bank provided Rs 16.9 billion for the road expansion.
