The deadline for selecting a service provider for the construction of the Nagdhunga-Sisnekhola tunnel has been extended for the second time. The project first invited bids on October 16 to select a service provider through an international bidding process for the operation of the tunnel.

The deadline for submitting bids was until 2nd December. However, the deadline was extended for the first time to 16th December as per the demand of international construction companies and Nepali construction entrepreneurs. The project has stated that the time has been extended to 30th December after the construction entrepreneurs demanded clarification on some points of the provisions set by the project during this period. Accordingly, the bids will be opened on that day.

The Nagdhunga Tunnel Construction Project Project Director, Soujanya Nepal, said that the time has been extended as per the Procurement Act as there was a need to make some minor amendments to the previously published bid documents. Sub-section (3) of Section 16 of the Procurement Act states that if a bidder requests clarification on a bid-related document within the time period mentioned in such documents, the public body shall provide such information to the bidder before the expiry of the deadline for submission.

‘If it is necessary to give additional time to the bidder, the public body may extend the last period for submission of bids or pre-qualification proposals,’ the Act states. Nepal, the project director, said that since the construction business was not clear on some issues, general amendments were made for clarity.

‘Initially, the notice was published with the consent of the Public Procurement Monitoring Office. We sent it with the consent of the procurement office to make amendments, it took some time to reach an agreement and prepare internally,’ Nepal said. That is why the bidding time has been extended, he said.

‘The construction company had some confusion regarding insurance. Some amendments were needed to insure the manpower and machinery while the service provider was working there, so the agreement was made with the consent of the procurement office. There is no amendment to the main issue,’ Nepal said, ‘Our regulations and guidelines state that manpower and equipment should be insured before doing any work. What will be covered by the insurance has now been amended and clarified.’ He said that there is no problem now and the service provider will be selected within three months at the most.

‘After publishing each bid, a pre-bid meeting is held during the submission period, in which interested bidders, after studying the bid documents, if there is any doubt, a meeting is held in the office, we had arranged the meeting accordingly,’ Nepal said, ‘After discussion, some minor amendments were required in the bid itself, so it was done accordingly.’

Since this is an international bid, there is a provision that a foreign company must necessarily form a joint venture with a Nepali company. The service provider selected in this way will have to manage and operate the tunnel for five years.

‘For these five years, the service provider will be responsible for the maintenance of the tunnel, traffic management, emergency rescue, toll collection, maintenance of the entire tunnel and the 2.8-kilometer access road connecting Kathmandu and Dhading on both sides,’ Nepal said, ‘The service provider will have to operate and manage the tunnel 24 hours a day for 365 days.’ 150 manpower will be deployed for the operation of the tunnel.

‘Four people are required to do one job, where work will be done in shifts,’ he said, ‘We have made a provision that five experts with experience in operating tunnels should be mandatory.’ He said that separate monthly remuneration rates have been demanded according to the positions of the people to be used there. ‘We have also asked for the expenses incurred while maintaining the tunnel, and we will bear the costs incurred,’ he said, ‘The toll amount collected by the selected service provider will have to be deposited in the Road Board Nepal account every day.’ Road Board Nepal will monitor this. The tunnel construction work has been 97 percent completed.

The project had stated that the tunnel route would be operational from the beginning of the English New Year 2026. However, the operation time has been postponed due to the failure to select a service provider. Now, according to the current preparations, the project says that it will be operational from the second week of Chaitra. Director Nepal said that it took one and a half years to prepare the tunnel operation guidelines and that there was no clear provision for procurement in it, so there was a delay in inviting bids by preparing a separate procurement guideline and getting it approved by the Council of Ministers. Based on this, a standard bid document was prepared. Then, the procurement was called after obtaining the consent of the Public Procurement Monitoring Office.

Currently, work is underway to construct a toll plaza and manage landslides towards Dhading. The construction company's deadline has been extended to 12 Baisakh 2083 to prevent landslides. The project says that 30 to 35 minutes will be saved for freight vehicles after the tunnel is operational. The government has also fixed a fee for vehicles using the tunnel.

The Nagdhunga-Sisnekhola Tunnel Transport Operation Guidelines, 2081, have also been issued on 25 Chaitra. According to the guidelines, after the tunnel is operational, pedestrians, two-wheelers, three-wheelers and non-motorized vehicles will not be allowed to enter the tunnel. Vehicles carrying highly flammable and explosive materials, including diesel, petrol, gas, etc., will also be prohibited in the tunnel.