As the contract for the expansion of the 8-kilometer Sanga-Dhulikhel road section nears its expiration date, work is progressing at a rapid pace in some places, while in others, work has been stalled for months.
What you should know
With only 25 days left until the contract deadline for the expansion of the Sanga-Dhulikhel road section under construction under the Araniko Highway, only 60 percent of the work has been completed.
According to the Suryabinayak-Dhulikhel Road Project Office, as the contract for the expansion of the 8-kilometer Sanga-Dhulikhel section nears its expiration date, work is progressing at a rapid pace in some places, while work has been stalled in others for months. So far, about 1 kilometer of road has been blacktopped in the Dhulikhel area. The project has informed that blacktopping work is currently underway in the Pulbazar-Janagal area.
Project engineer Bishnu Khanal informed that work is currently underway in the Pulbazar-Janagal, Bansghari-Budol, Sanga-Bhaisepati, Banepa Bazaar and other areas. ‘A length of 800 meters and a width of 10 meters has been completed on the right side of the Pulbazar-Janagal area from Kathmandu to Banepa,’ said project engineer Bishnu Khanal. ‘Preparations are currently being made to blacktop the left side from Banepa to Kathmandu.’
According to him, work is currently underway to cut the main lane in the Bansghari-Budol area and to lay gravel in the service lane. Similarly, preparations are underway to lay a curb at Chandni Chowk in Banepa. According to him, work is currently underway to install walls and fill in the Chandeshwari Khola area in Banepa. He informed that cutting work is currently underway in the Dhungedhara area in the Sanga-Bhainsepati area.
Although the expansion work is underway at various places in the first section of the highway, locals have expressed obstacles in the work of about 200 meters of the road section in the Banepa-Pulbazar area. Project Engineer Khanal informed that the locals have not allowed the work to be carried out in that area for about 10 months due to the dispute over the center line.
According to him, the expansion work has not been able to proceed for about 10 months in the Pulbazar area of the under-construction road section after the locals raised obstacles regarding the center line. ‘There have been many discussions on this issue in coordination between the Survey Department, local people’s representatives and locals to remove the obstacles,’ he said, ‘No conclusion has been reached, we are expediting the work by leaving aside the disputed areas.’ According to project chief Vijay Kumar Mahato, about 50 percent of the work has been completed on the Suryabinayak-Dhulikhel section so far. He informed that 60 percent of the work has been completed on the Sanga-Dhulikhel section and 42 percent on the Suryabinayak-Sanga section.
According to him, houses in some places on the Suryabinayak-Sanga section are yet to be demolished. He said that there are some obstacles in that section as about 6 houses are yet to be demolished. He informed that the rich have been requested to demolish the houses that are within the road standards and have promised to demolish them soon.
According to him, Lama Construction Company Pvt. Ltd. had taken a contract for the first section of the Sanga-Dhulikhel 8-kilometer road expansion work to be completed within three years at a cost of Rs 4.56 billion. As per the agreement signed with the construction contractor on Mangsir 27, 2079, only 25 days are left for the contract to expire. He said that the contract for the expansion work of the first section will expire on Mangsir 26, 2082.
The project has stated that a contract has been signed for the second section of the Suryabinayak-Sanga 7.5-kilometer expansion under the plan for Rs 3.889 billion. There is about one and a half months left until the contract period for that section expires. He informed that the period for the expansion of that section will expire on Poush 18, 2082.
Although the contract for the expansion of both sections is about to expire, he said that there is no shortage of budget to carry out the work. According to him, discussions are underway with the construction business to extend the contract deadline to next Ashar and complete the work of both sections.
