The work on the Syafrubensi-Rasuwagadhi road upgrade has finally begun, seven years after an agreement was reached between Nepal and China. The two countries signed an implementation agreement in 2019 to upgrade the road with a grant from the Chinese government.

But the upgrading work has not yet started. The Chinese side has set up a camp for construction since January 1. The distance from Syafrubensi to Rasuwagadhi is 15.5 kilometers.

This road, which connects China as a trade border, needs to be upgraded to two lanes. Currently, due to the narrowness of the road due to floods and landslides, cargo vehicles carrying ready-made goods from the Rasuwagadhi border crossing have been taking risks to reach Syafrubensi.

The work of setting up a camp and collecting stones, gravel, and sand required for the construction has begun, said Krishnanath Ojha, Planning Chief of the Galchhi-Trishuli-Mailung-Syafrubensi-Rasuwagadhi Road Planning Office, Bidur.

‘Now, the machines used in the construction are yet to be installed and prepared,’ he said. ‘A request has been sent to the Ministry of Forests and Environment through the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport for permission to cut down trees during the road upgrade.’ He said that since most of the sections have landslides and the Bhotekoshi has cut the road from below, the construction of retaining walls will begin first. 

‘For this work, the Chinese side has demanded that the Rasuwagadhi-Syafrubensi section be closed for 15 days,’ Ojha said. ‘The Chinese side has demanded that it be closed from March 15.’ He said that discussions are underway on this. ‘We will close the road and start the construction of the wall by digging the foundation. This work is not possible without closing the road,’ Ojha said. ‘If a landslide occurs after digging the road, vehicles cannot be driven, so we will issue a public notice and close the road.’ He said that work cannot be done without closing it.

The floods and landslides that occurred in Ashar last year have damaged various sections of the road. There was a problem in operating the road immediately as the Bhotekoshi was eroding from below. Now the road has been brought into operation as it should. The Rasuwagadhi border crossing had been closed since Asad 24 after the flood washed away the concrete bridge over the Lhende River connecting Nepal-China. The border crossing was put into operation after about 6 months from 17 Poush. The border crossing came into operation after China built a temporary bailey bridge over the Lhende River. 

When the border crossing was functioning well before the flood, around 100 freight vehicles used to pass through this road daily. Now, due to the condition of the road and the capacity of the bailey bridge, only 40 to 45 vehicles pass through and the same number come back. The Chinese company Xichang Tianlu has come to Nepal after being awarded a contract there for the road upgrade, the contract amount of which is 6.5 billion rupees and the construction period is set at 39 months. 

Although the work was supposed to start in 2019 with a grant from the Chinese government, the work could not be completed for 3 years due to Covid, said Vijay Jaisi, Director General of the Road Department. ‘Covid appeared while the work was starting, and then the work could not be completed,’ he said, ‘I thought it was a good idea not to start construction at that time, otherwise the Asar flood would have washed away the road, and it would have taken time to build it again.’ Later, the work could not proceed due to the need for tax exemption on construction materials and goods imported from China. It took 6 months for the Ministry of Finance to approve this, and after approval, the Chinese team came to work. 

According to the department, tax exemption has been granted on stones, gravel, and sand used in the construction. The Planning Office says that even though the Forest and Langtang National Park conducted an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), the trees were not allowed to be cut. According to the office, the file related to tree cutting has now been sent to the Ministry of Forests and Environment through the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport. 

Arjun Prasad Aryal, Chief of the Development Assistance Implementation Division under the Road Department, said that 270 trees on the road need to be cut down and a decision is being made on this. ‘The work will not be stopped immediately because of the trees,’ he said, ‘The file has been received, a decision will be made from the forest department in some time.’ Meanwhile, the work of removing the electricity poles is also pending. 

Tulsi Prasad Bhattarai, Chief Officer of the Rasuwa Customs Office, said that since the road will be closed for another 15 days, the revenue collection will not be as per the target. ‘The Rasuwa Customs Office has set a revenue collection target of Rs 40.16 billion in the current fiscal year,’ he said, ‘It is difficult to meet the target as the road will be closed again after being closed for 6 months.’