The construction of the Nagdhunga-Sisnekhola tunnel is 98 percent complete. An agreement is being reached with the service provider company to operate the tunnel within this week. The fee for vehicles using the tunnel has also been set. But the tunnel has not been operational.

Director of the Nagdhunga Tunnel Construction Project, Soujan Nepal, says that there is no problem in operating it once the service provider company has trained and prepared the manpower. The task of preparing the manpower is the responsibility of the service provider company. The responsibility for operation has been given to the USIN-ART JV. USIN is a Chinese company and ART is a Nepali company. Although the company has been announced to be awarded the responsibility, the agreement is in the final stages of being signed.

‘The company that is going to be given the responsibility of operating it is preparing the necessary documents for the agreement,’ said Director Nepal. ‘We are preparing to sign the agreement within this week, after which the company will be deployed in the field.’ So when will this tunnel be open for vehicles? Director Nepal says, ‘There is no question of opening the tunnel to the public without it being fully prepared, and there is also a matter of passenger safety, so it will be operational within three months from the date of the agreement.’ He said that this issue will be mentioned while signing the agreement with the service provider company.

Does it take so long to operate the tunnel even after the service provider company has been selected? Director Nepal adds, ‘After the agreement is signed, we will provide training on tunnel operation to 150 employees working on the tunnel route. The tunnel runs 24 hours a day. It takes time because employees working in such places should be properly trained before being put to work.’

Director Nepal says that the training will include employees of the Road Department, project employees, expert groups from consulting companies, and technical teams from construction companies. ‘The employees selected to work there will be trained in the system inside the tunnel for some time.’ The employees will be taught about working in the tunnel that runs from the flyover in Kathmandu’s KCPD to Dhading via the tunnel route.

The service provider company should complete the training of the manpower within three months of the agreement. But in the meantime, he says that the tunnel test can be conducted by the end of Baisakh. The date of the agreement means three months, which is the second week of Shrawan. ‘The tunnel will be operational during the rainy season,’ he said. The project said that the landslide management work and the construction of the toll plaza (toll collection point) on the Dhading side have reached their final stages.

The service provider that is currently selected will have to manage and operate the tunnel for five years. The company that will be responsible for the operation will have to maintain the tunnel, traffic management, emergency rescue, toll collection, the entire tunnel and the 2.8-kilometer access road connecting Kathmandu and Dhading for five years. The service provider will have to operate and manage the tunnel 24 hours a day. The selected service provider company will have to deposit the toll amount collected into the Road Board Nepal account every day.

Fees set for vehicles using the tunnel

Fees have been set for vehicles using the tunnel. The government has announced the implementation of the fees by publishing them in the gazette. According to which, cars and vans will have to pay a fee of Rs 65 when entering Kathmandu and Rs 60 when exiting. The Nagdhunga Tunnel Construction Project estimates that around 859 such vehicles will enter and 646 will exit daily.

Similarly, a fee of Rs 115 has been set for mini buses, trucks and tippers when entering Kathmandu and Rs 80 when exiting. The project says that 540 of these vehicles will enter the valley daily and 406 will exit daily. Buses and trucks will have to pay a fee of Rs 260 when entering Kathmandu through the tunnel and Rs 200 when exiting through the same route. The project office estimates that 794 such vehicles will enter and 597 will exit daily.

Large trucks and heavy vehicles (lorries) will have to pay a toll of Rs 600 when entering the valley and Rs 250 when exiting the tunnel. The project estimates that 596 of these vehicles will enter and 448 will exit daily.

These vehicles will not be allowed to use the tunnel.

How much will be charged for which vehicles when using the Nagdhunga Tunnel?

The Nagdhunga-Sisnekhola Tunnel Transport Operation Directive, 2081 has been issued. According to the directive, 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 are also prohibited from the tunnel. Such vehicles will be allowed to use the Nagdhunga-Sisnekhola road outside the tunnel.

Ganesh Bahadur KC, Executive Director of Road Board Nepal, said that arrangements will be made for vehicles using the Nagdhunga Tunnel to pay the prescribed toll 'digitally'. 'The board is currently short of manpower as the employee regulations have not been prepared,' he said, 'That is why we will select a Chinese company to collect the toll, and the board will monitor it. This tunnel is a completely new technology for Nepal, and there are no experienced employees who have worked on it.' He claims that the toll payment will be made faster and more efficient by using high technology within six months to a year of the tunnel's operation.