Bijay Kumar Mahato, head of the Suryabinayak-Dhulikhel Road Project, said that although the amount was insufficient and an additional 150 million rupees were received during the construction, that too has been completed.
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The budget for the Suryabinayak-Dhulikhel road expansion along the Araniko Highway has not yet been made available as requested. The budget allocated in the current fiscal year for the 15.8-kilometer road expansion connecting the two districts of Bhaktapur and Kavre is insufficient.
The project had demanded Rs 3 billion in the current fiscal year. However, only Rs 700 million was allocated for road and bridge construction, of which Rs 600 million was allocated for road expansion and Rs 100 million for bridge construction. The amount was insufficient and an additional Rs 150 million was received during the construction, but that too has been completed, said Bijay Kumar Mahato, head of the Suryabinayak-Dhulikhel road project.
‘Work is being done at a fast pace, but there is not enough budget,’ Mahato said, ‘The work has not been stopped due to lack of budget, if the budget is not received as requested, there is a high risk that the work will be affected.’ He said that he is demanding the timely provision of the budget. ‘At least one billion is needed in the current fiscal year,’ he said, ‘The work of constructing drains in both sections is nearing completion, one contracted section is being blacktopped and preparations are underway to start the other section.’ He said that preparations are being made to blacktop the base and subbase. Vehicles use this road to reach the eastern hills and Terai districts via the BP Highway.
‘A demand of Rs 600 million has been made immediately, the Road Department has recommended Rs 200 million for transfer and sent it to the Finance Ministry,’ Mahato said, ‘But the money has not yet been received in the account.’ This road has been divided into two sections and the contract has been made. Vijay Jaisi, Director General of the Road Department, said that the transfer has been requested and sent to the Finance Ministry. ‘The budget for the ongoing project could not be stopped,’ he said, ‘Good work is being done in this section, if there was no budget shortage, the pace of work would have increased.’
Tanka Prasad Pandey, Joint Secretary and Spokesperson of the Finance Ministry, said that the Road Department has demanded Rs 200 million, which is in the process of being provided. ‘Budget has been demanded for the Suryabinayak-Dhulikhel road expansion,’ he said, ‘which is in the process and will be available within a day or two.’
One of the two sections is Suryabinayak-Sanga. The distance of this section is 7.5 km. The contract for this section was won by Ashish-Kumar Shrestha-Bandhan Bhagwati JV on 24 Paush 2079. The contract amount is 3.8893 billion rupees, and the progress is 48 percent. This section has not been blacktopped and preparations are underway to blacktop two km. Currently, blacktopping is being done from Suryabinayak to Jagati.
‘The blacktop work will start in this section within the next 8-10 days,’ said Pandey, ‘A 1 km underpass is being built in the Sanga section, 60 percent of its work has been completed,’ said Chief Mahato, ‘Vehicles will be able to move through the underpass before the coming monsoon.’ The deadline expired on 27th December and has been extended until 29th Falgun 2083.
Another section under construction is Sanga-Dhulikhel. The distance of this section is 8.3 km and the construction progress is 68 percent. Two and a half km of the road has been blacktopped. The project reported that 3 km of 6-lane road has been blacktopped. The contract for this section was won by Lama Construction on 27th Mangsir 2079 for 4.56 billion rupees. The deadline expired on 27th Mangsir and has now been extended until 23rd Mangsir 2083. So far, the construction progress of the overall project is 56 percent.
Separate contracts have been awarded for three bridges in this road section. The contract for the bridge has been awarded to Himdung & Thokar-Ramjanaki JV. While the road construction is more than half complete, the construction of the bridge has not yet gained momentum. The project, which was contracted in a single package for three bridges, said.
There are plans to finally construct two bridges. Work is underway on only one bridge. The contract was awarded under the design and build technique. According to the agreement signed on 6 Chaitra 2079, the construction of the bridge should be completed by 5 Asoj 2082. The contract amount for the three bridges, including VAT, is Rs 575 million. After the work was not completed within the contract period, the deadline has now been extended until 5 Mangsir 2083.
The Jagati Bridge is in Bhaktapur and Punyamata and the Mahadev Khola Bridge are in Kavre. Work is underway on the Mahadev Khola Bridge and the construction progress is 12 percent. The project said that the initial design of the Punyamata and Jagati bridges is being reconsidered and construction is finally starting. According to project chief Mahato, work is now being started by unloading construction materials. Work is underway in Mahadev Khola.
Another problem in the project is the relocation of electricity poles. ‘There are 60 poles left to be relocated in the Suryabinayak-Sankhu section and 40 in the Sankhu-Dhulikhel section, which is causing delays in the work,’ said Mahato. ‘The work of relocation of poles has been done through a contract through the Nepal Electricity Authority, and the same businessman has taken contracts for many places, which is causing delays in the relocation.’ According to him, if a budget of Rs 1 billion is available in the current fiscal year, the overall construction progress will reach more than 70 percent.
