INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
KATHMANDU, OCTOBER 12The eastern section of the Narayangarh-Butwal road expansion project has experienced sluggish
Finance Minister assures of adequate budget for expansion of Araniko highway
Melamchi-Helambu road section obstructed
The 64.42-km Gaindakot-Daunne road stretch within the Butwal-Narayangarh section along the East-West Highway
has achieved only 41.17 percent physical completion.The contract for the road widening project was signed approximately five years ago, with
conditions stipulating that construction works would be completed within three years and that the contractor company would be responsible
However, the road expansion project has not gained the expected momentum, even though the deadline has been extended multiple times.
Rakesh Jha, the project's eastern section manager, shared that the overall progress of the eastern section has reached 41.17
He added that 595 workers, including technicians, work daily in the eastern section, along with 13 excavators, seven graders, 11 loaders,
four cranes, 28 tippers, 10 water-carrying tanks, and five concrete-carrying vehicles regularly mobilized on the project.Jha noted that
construction works have been intensified in the field to meet the extended timeline's progress
The project has also continued the task of blacktopping the road section
So far, 16 km of the eastern section has been blacktopped, and preparations for repairing the damaged road have also been initiated,
considering the approaching festivals.Dhiraj Dhakal, Information Officer and engineer at the eastern section of the project, mentioned that
tasks related to small bridges and the sub-structure of 11 out of 12 large bridges in the eastern section have been completed
He added, 'Around 50 percent of the tasks related to relocating electric poles in the eastern section have been completed.'The 115-km road
project, stretching from the Narayani River in Gaindakot to Butwal, was divided into two sections when the expansion contract was signed
The Chinese State Engineering Corporation was awarded the contract for the expansion project
Section 'A' includes a 64.42-km road from Gaindakot to Daunne, and section 'B' covers 48.58-km from Daunne to Butwal.The road expansion
project is being implemented with an 85 percent loan assurance from the Asian Development Bank (ADB)
According to the design, the road will have six lanes in settlement areas, four lanes in forested areas, and three lanes in the Daunne
mountainous region.As per the information provided, the government has contributed 15 percent of the total project costs."
This article first appeared/also appeared in https://thehimalayantimes.com
