Project Directorate urges not to build new tents on road sections to be upgraded
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The tender for the Narayangadh-Hetauda and Muglin-Ambukhaireni road upgrade is scheduled to be floated by the second week of Falgun. The design of the Narayangadh-Hetauda road section is in the final stages of being finalized.
The Ministry of Forest and Environment is also finalizing the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for this section. It will be discussed and sent to the Ministry of Forest and Environment for approval within two weeks, said Chudaraj Dhakal, Project Director of the Project Directorate (ADB).
‘We are discussing with the Road Department next Wednesday for design approval,’ he said. ‘Once the design is approved, we are preparing to call for tenders by the second week of Falgun at the latest.’ Earlier, Dhakal said that the loan agreement will be finalized after discussions with the Asian Development Bank by the end of Poush and the first week of Magh. The project office has stated that it has issued a public notice requesting not to build new structures in the event of road upgrading.
‘If the existing structure is affected by road upgrading, compensation will be given,’ he said. ‘Even after issuing the notice, compensation will not be given if a new structure is built again. If someone builds a house and hut, we will remove it and work.’ The project stated that the notice was issued on 19 Mangshar. According to the information, a four-lane road will be built in settlements and residential areas. Similarly, one-lane service lanes will be constructed. In urban areas, two-lane service lanes, drains, sidewalks, and separate bridges for pedestrians and vehicles will be constructed.
The project office has issued a public notice requesting that electricity, poles, sewage, drinking water, and other public structures be relocated for easy construction and not to build more. A two-lane road will be built from Muglin Bazaar and two-lane road from there.
‘Under the Narayangadh-Hetauda road, road upgrading will be carried out from the Rapti Bridge in Hetauda to Gondrang in Bharatpur in Chitwan,’ Dhakal said, ‘A two-lane road will be built from Muglin Bazaar and connected to the Marsyangdi Powerhouse after cutting through it.’ The Muglin-Ambukhaireni road is 8.5 km long. The project says it will take two and a half years to build. From Aanbukhaireni to Pokhara, the road upgrading work is currently nearing completion in some sections and is in the process of being completed in others.
The road from Muglin to Aanbukhaireni is narrow, so the upgrading work did not start in the first lot. Although there will be heavy traffic, there is a powerhouse of the Marsyangdi Hydropower Project in that section and there is a risk of cutting additional hills, so a 2-lane road is being constructed on that section. The five-km road will be built on the other side.
Two concrete bridges will be constructed under the Muglin market and after cutting the powerhouse of the Marsyangdi Hydropower Project. A concrete bridge will be built about 400 meters from the Marsyangdi Powerhouse. After that, a 4-lane road will be constructed up to Jamune.
Both these road sections are being upgraded with a concessional loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB). A two-km-long flyover will be constructed in Tikauli forest of Chitwan under the Narayangadh-Hetauda section. The project has stated that this is the first time such a long flyover is being constructed within a protected area. Its construction is estimated to cost around Rs 7 billion.
An agreement has been reached for ADB to provide a grant of around Rs 3 billion for this. The flyover will be three lanes. One lane on each side will be used for walking and cycling. The remaining four lanes will have two lanes for vehicles in both directions. There will be only 67 pillars on the flyover. Vehicles will ply from above the flyover, while wildlife will be able to move around from below.
The project office estimates that it will cost Rs 53 billion to upgrade the Aanbukhaireni and Narayangadh-Hetauda sections. Meanwhile, the 100-km road from Pathlaiya in Bara to Narayangadh is also being upgraded with a loan from ADB. The project has stated that the design work for the road has been completed and the upgrading work of this section will be carried out only after the contract for Hetauda-Narayangadh is awarded.
