Even after eight years, about 16 kilometers of road under the ring road expansion have not been constructed. The expansion of the first section of Koteshwor-Kalanki was started in 2069 BS.  Although the work on that section was completed in 2075 BS, the expansion of the Kalanki-Koteshwor section has not gained momentum. 

Eight years after the completion of the first section, the second section, Kalanki-Basundhara section (8.2 kilometers), was finally expanded. But so far, work has not been able to move forward on this section. Currently, preparations are being made to expand the road only up to near Basundhara Chowk. A G2G agreement was signed with the Chinese government in 2018 for the expansion of this road section. The Chinese team took a stand that it would not come without completing the preparatory work. The work was also postponed due to Covid. 

Only 11.09 km of the 27-km ring road has been completed so far. There is still uncertainty about the expansion of 15.91 km. The work has not been able to be done due to problems in demolishing the houses and shacks on the 600-meter road section from Basundhara to Narayan Gopal Chowk. The Chinese government had earlier discussed with the government agencies for the road expansion from Kalanki to Narayan Gopal Chowk. However, China backed out after seeing problems in demolishing houses and other structures in that area. After that, China put forward a plan to expand the road only from Kalanki to near Basundhara culvert and the process was taken forward accordingly. 

Although the project implementation agreement for the second section expansion was signed on 16 Baisakh 2083, the work has not progressed so far. The agreement was signed between Minister for Infrastructure Development Sunil Lamsal and Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Chang Maoming and preparations were made to implement it quickly. The ministry has stated that the Chinese government will provide a grant of about 11 billion rupees for the second section expansion. The government decided to exempt construction materials and customs duties from the government's decision in the Council of Ministers meeting on 12 Falgun, which paved the way for further processes for the expansion. 

Arjun Prasad Aryal, head of the Development Assistance Implementation Division of the Roads Department, said that the contract work will move forward after the final design is submitted by the Chinese side for the construction of this section.  The team had conducted a survey for the design in two and a half months. According to the design, a concrete bridge will be built at Dhungedhara. Three sky bridges will be made disabled-friendly. A sky bridge will be built between Sitapaila, Balaju and Machhapokhari and between Samakhusi Basundhara police post. 

The department has stated that the street lights from Kalanki to Basundhara Chowk have been designed to be built by China during the road expansion. The Nepalese government has built the third section of the Ring Road with its own investment. Now that section has become a center of attraction for everyone. Under the third section, a 700-meter extension of the Chappal Karkhana from Narayan Gopal Chowk has been completed. The Road Division Office, Kathmandu, reported that the work was completed in 13 months after the construction began. The contract for the road expansion has been won by Ambuja/SK/Kali JV. The contract amount including VAT is Rs 240 million. It has been expanded to 6 lanes. The remaining sections will also be expanded to 6 lanes, excluding the service lane.

 According to the Kathmandu Valley Traffic Police Office, around 400 to 500 passenger vehicles ply through the ring road daily. The increasing traffic volume has led to daily traffic jams. Accordingly, road infrastructure experts say that the ring road has not been expanded at a rapid pace. The third section from Narayan Gopal Chowk to Gopikrishna (Dhobikhola Bridge) could have been expanded. Subodh Kumar Devkota, Chief of the Road Division Office, Kathmandu, said that work could not be done up to that section due to lack of budget. He complains that he did not get the money when he asked for the money to do the work at once.  

Chief Devkota said that preparations are being made to award a contract for 1,200 meters in the current fiscal year. ‘We have received a multi-year resource agreement for the road expansion from Chappal Karkhana to Dhobikhola Bridge, we will prepare a cost estimate and invite the contract,’ he said, ‘We have received a resource agreement of Rs 510 million, we plan to complete the construction within 18 months of the contract.’ He said that we will know only after conducting a detailed study on how to build the section from Basundhara to Narayan Gopal Chowk. ‘We will see whether it is appropriate to build an underpass in the said section,’ he said, ‘If an underpass can be built, there will be no need to demolish houses, there are many houses in this section.’ 

The budget for the coming fiscal year mentions that the expansion work of the Kalanki-Basundhara section will be started under the ring road expansion. Similarly, the budget statement also mentions that the design of the Basundhara-Chabahil-Koteshwor section will be completed. The section other than the one to be built by China falls within the jurisdiction of the Road Division Office, Kathmandu. However, there is a problem in working on the section from Chabahil to Koteshwor. There are many heritage sites listed on the World Heritage List in that section. He said that after a detailed study of the section, it will be known what to do and what options can be taken. 

Former Secretary Keshav Kumar Sharma said that the work on the ring road expansion should have been expedited considering the traffic pressure, but there has been some delay. ‘The second section was delayed sometimes due to the Chinese side and sometimes due to the Nepal government,’ he said, ‘Now there should be no delay in construction, in some sections there are many houses, so there is difficulty in managing them.’ He said that there is confusion about how to work there as some sections are listed as World Heritage Sites. 

‘In some sections, we also had to wait for China to build it,’ he said, who retired from the post of Secretary some time ago. ‘After the delay, the work on the Narayan Gopal-Chappal Karkhana section has been started and completed with the Nepal government’s own investment.’ He claims that if the ring road and river corridor can be improved, the traffic jam in the valley can be managed.