If there is no problem in the construction, within the next October 2082, through the Nagdhunga-Sisne Khola tunnel, vehicles will leave for east-west. 85 percent of the construction of the tunnel, which was started on November 4, 2076, has been completed. Now only 15 percent of the construction work has to be completed within 8 months.

Vijay Jaisi, Deputy Director General of the Development Assistance Implementation Division under the Road Department, said that most of the work on the tunnel has been completed. "The main work has been completed, now the work of crankit slope (road) inside the tunnel is in the final stage," he said The project says that it will take 23 minutes to exit. But after the tunnel is operational, it is said that the project will reach Balambu's railway station from Sisne River within 7 minutes. 

"There is a daily traffic jam on Sisne River, and the risk of accidents is high. Last October, there was a big accident due to a landslide in Jhaple River on this section," he said. Travel time is also reduced. The emergency and main tunnels have been constructed separately. The distance of the emergency tunnel is 2,557 meters. Now, only 9 meters of the crankite slope of the tunnel is left. 

There are seven doors leading from the main tunnel to the emergency tunnel. The distance between Tutipakha in Chandragiri in Kathmandu and Sisne river in Dhunibensi Municipality in Dhading is 2,688 meters. Project sources said that only 1,500 meters of concrete slope work is left. Since the project started, 3 underpasses, 4 box culverts, one overpass, 3 bridges have been constructed. 

The distance of the road from Kisipdi in Balambu to the entrance of the tunnel is 2.307 km. Currently, road paving is being done on the third level in two lanes. According to the project, the work of the flyover is also going on rapidly and 95 percent has been completed. "This is a flyover for vehicles, its construction was technically challenging," Jaisi said, "its work has also reached its final stage." 

After the tunnel is put into operation, not only the distance and time will be reduced, but also the fuel cost of vehicles will be reduced. Currently, fire fighting and lighting installation work is being done inside the tunnel. The ventilation connection work is also in progress. The work of putting railings and painting the walls is also intensive. 

Now more than 10,000 vehicles pass through Nagadhunga road section daily. The construction of the tunnel is being done by the Japanese company Hazma Endo Corporation. The total contract amount of the tunnel is 22 billion rupees. In this project, Japan has a concessional loan of 16.5 billion rupees. The Government of Nepal has invested 6 billion rupees in this. According to the road department, the project could not be completed within the stipulated time due to Covid and occasional disruptions by locals. According to the initial agreement, the project work should have been completed within 42 months. But 62 months have passed since the construction started. In other words, construction has not been completed even though it took 20 months more than the initial contract. "There is no problem now," Jaisi said, "there is no problem to finish the work before the added time while working at this speed."  By the time the