The Quality, Research and Development Center under the Road Department has received a budget ceiling of Rs 430 million for the upcoming fiscal year 2082/83. Due to the small budget, the new tunnel construction process will not be taken forward in the upcoming fiscal year. The center has prioritized the construction of the Siddhababa Tunnel in Palpa and the overpass in the Ekantakuna section, which is prone to traffic jams.

Rajesh Prasad Poudel, director of the center, said that the ongoing projects have been prioritized due to the reduced budget ceiling for the upcoming fiscal year. ‘There is a liability of about Rs 3 billion for the Siddhababa Tunnel in Palpa,’ he said, ‘There is no way to allocate more than Rs 200 million for it, which budget will be completed in Shrawan-Bhadra as the new fiscal year begins.’ The center says that this budget will be insufficient. The contract agreement for the Siddhababa Tunnel route was signed in Falgun 2078 with the aim of completing the construction within five years. Its deadline is until Falgun 2083. So far, only 67.27 percent of the construction work has been completed. According to

Director Poudel, Rs 120 million has been proposed for the construction of an overpass in Ekantakuna in the coming fiscal year. Poudel says that there will be no problem in starting its construction from the coming fiscal year if the budget is received. In the budget statement for the fiscal year 2079/80, the government had mentioned that flyovers or overpasses would be constructed in Gwarko, Satdobato and Ekantakuna in the valley. So far, no structures have been built anywhere except Gwarko. According to a study conducted by the center, the distance of the underpass to be built in Satdobato will be 540.78 meters. The study will build an underpass like the one in Kalanki and will cost Rs 720 million. The underpass will be four-lane, the Roads Department has stated.

The distance of the overpass to be built in Ekantakuna will be 300 meters. The study mentions that the construction will cost Rs 500 million. The contract for both of these will be awarded under the Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) model. Despite the study, further work has not been able to proceed due to lack of budget. ‘The work of preparing the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for constructing an overpass at Ekantakuna has been completed, so there is no problem in proceeding with the construction,’ said Poudel, director of the center. ‘The problem is the lack of budget.’

The feasibility study of the Dumkibas-Bardaghat tunnel under the Narayangadh-Butwal road section has also been completed. According to the study conducted in 2080 BS, its total distance is 5.3 km. According to the preliminary study, its construction will require 38.69 billion rupees.

According to the Road Department, the study of the Tokha-Chhahare tunnel was given priority during the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Nepal on 25 Asoj 2076. A Chinese consulting team had come to Nepal for a pre-feasibility study on 11 Poush of the same year. The team had studied the location where the tunnel would be constructed. According to the study, the distance of the tunnel is estimated to be 4 to 4.5 kilometers. On 1 Falgun 2076, at the request of the Chinese consultant, data on daily vehicle traffic on three options, Kathmandu-Tokha-Chhahare-Bidur, Kathmandu-Okharpauwa-Bidur and Kathmandu-Naubise-Galchhi roads, were provided. Poudel, director of the center, said that the study has been completed to the point where the construction of the Tokha-Chhahare, Daunne-Dumkibas-Bardaghat and Hemja-Nayapul tunnels has been completed.

‘These are the three tunnels that have been found feasible during the feasibility study, and a detailed feasibility study has been prepared,’ Poudel said, ‘The cost will be known only during the construction.’ According to him, the study has been completed to the point where only 3 out of 16 can be constructed.

‘Construction of tunnels is more expensive than roads. During the feasibility study, only three tunnels have been found feasible,’ Poudel said. ‘In the case of other tunnels, the government will decide only after determining the investment priority.’ The center has stated that even after studying some tunnels, it is not possible to immediately proceed with the construction process. ‘Only tunnels that provide economic benefits should be built. If a tunnel can be built at Nayapul in Kaski, it will be easy to connect the Korala border crossing in Mustang, which borders China,’ he said. ‘Therefore, it is necessary and important from a commercial point of view.’

Even if we invest in roads and tunnels, if vehicles do not ply accordingly and there is no economic activity, it will be meaningless,’ Poudel said. ‘We will conduct a detailed study of the places with potential for tunnel construction,’ he said. ‘Later, we will proceed with the construction work based on the need.’ He stated that the government has a policy of investing in tunnels that provide production and benefits. Poudel said that a feasibility study has been conducted for the Khurkot-Chiabari tunnel in Sindhuli along the BP Highway and the process for its construction will be taken forward after a detailed study. There is a demand from local people's representatives for the construction of a tunnel as there are many twists and turns in this section.

There are many twists and turns in this road section. Passengers feel uncomfortable while traveling. Police say that there is a risk of accidents in this section due to the many twists and turns. If the Chiabari-Khurkot tunnel is constructed, the distance between Ramechhap, Dolakha, Okhaldhunga, Khotang, and Solukhumbu in the Terai will also be shortened. Its feasibility study was conducted in 2076/77. According to the study, the distance will be 4.90 km. However, the distance and cost will be determined during the preparation of the Detailed Project Report (DPR). According to the feasibility study, the construction cost will be Rs 16.8 billion. If the Chiyabari-Khurkot road tunnel is constructed, the distance of the Nagbeli road on the BP Highway will be reduced to less than one-third.

The distance of the Chiyabari-Khurkot road is currently 29.8 km, but it is claimed that if the tunnel is constructed, it will be reduced to 8.5 km. It currently takes one to one and a half hours to cover that distance. If the tunnel is constructed, the distance will be covered in 6 minutes. This will be a fast and short route to the Terai districts. 1,050 to 2,000 vehicles travel through this section daily. During the festive season, 7 to 10,000 vehicles travel daily. Even the tunnels that were studied in 2074 BS have not yet entered the construction process.

The longest tunnel currently being studied is the Sunmai-Rajdubol tunnel in Ilam. According to a pre-feasibility study conducted in 2080 BS, its distance is 12.30 km. Its construction cost is estimated at 42.36 billion rupees. Another long tunnel is the Majhimtar-Shakthi Khor tunnel connecting Majhitar in Dhading to Shakthi Khor in Chitwan. Its distance is 10.60 km and the cost is estimated to be Rs 45 billion. This is the initial cost and distance determined during the pre-feasibility study. A detailed study will be conducted later to proceed with construction. There has been no further progress on the Thankot-Chitlang tunnel route that is to be constructed.

The pre-feasibility study of Dharan-Leuti tunnel in Sunsari was conducted in 2077. However, there is no sign of construction yet. According to the pre-feasibility study, its distance is 3.87 km and the construction cost is estimated to be Rs 11.13 billion. The study of Bihun-Narethati tunnel in Baglung was completed in the fiscal year 2079/80. According to the study, its construction cost will be Rs 20.4 billion and the distance will be 7.44 km.

The study of the tunnel connecting Sangta in Kushe Rural Municipality of Jajarkot to Imilchaghari in Tatopani Rural Municipality of Jumla has been completed. The distance of this section is 10.07 km. According to the pre-feasibility study completed in 2079/80, its construction is estimated to cost only 33 billion rupees. The study of the Babai-Chinchu tunnel in Surkhet has also been completed in 2079/80. According to the study, it is estimated to cost 15 billion rupees to build the 5-km tunnel.