It has been 7 years since the Nepal Army took over the construction management of the Kathmandu-Tarai/Madhesh Expressway (Fast Track). So far construction progress is only 38.80 percent. Out of 70.977 km, the contract for 6.5 km section of Khokna-Bungmati area has not yet been concluded. As a result, the progress of the overall project has been affected. Now the deadline of the project has been extended till the end of March 2083. Why is there a delay in the construction of the project? When will the dispute over the Khokna section end? In this context, Bimal Khatiwada of Kantipur had a brief conversation with military spokesman and assistant Rathi Gaurav Kumar KC:

What is currently being done on Fast Track? 
As of mid-February 2081, the overall physical progress of the project is 38.80 percent and the overall financial progress including mobilization is 40.24 percent. Currently, apart from the Khokna section, only 64.477 km are being worked on by contract. The contract for the 6.5 km section of Khokna has not been concluded . There is no problem in awarding the contract if the issues related to the determination of the starting point of the expressway, decisions regarding traffic management and land acquisition are resolved. We are prepared for that. 

2083 Will the fast track construction work be completed by the middle of March 2083?
Although the construction work of package number 1 to 7 was initially affected due to some procedural reasons including approval of tree felling, geographical conditions, the work is being done to be completed by the end of March 2082 . Package No. 8 'A', 8 'B', 9 'A' and 9 'B' in Makkhubensi and Cisneri sections are being completed by December 2083 and Package No. 10 is being completed by October 2083 . As the bridge construction work is going on in the said package and the foundation work is being done somewhere, the progress is less in some sections. But the construction work plan in the project is being done according to plan. The work is being done to complete the construction within the stipulated time. 

It has been 7 years since the army took over construction management, why is the progress so low?
When the project was handed over to the Nepali Army, the detailed project report (DPR) was not prepared, so it took a long time for its preparation and approval. In the meantime, due to various reasons including the Covid-19 epidemic, the construction of the expressway was affected from the actual implementation stage. As a result, it has become difficult to achieve progress relatively quickly.

• related news : The entanglement of the 'Khokna dispute' in the construction of the expressway

At present, the purchase agreement for the entire section except for 6.5 km of the Khokna section of the expressway has been completed and the work is underway . In some of the packages that are being worked on as a contract, due to the incessant rains last October, the flow of the Bagmati river and other geographical changes have caused a new geological study and redesign of some structures. To increase the progress of the project, a decision should be made as soon as possible regarding the land acquisition of Khokna area and the starting point of the expressway. In the same way, land acquisition, tree cutting approval etc. necessary for the project should be facilitated with special priority.