As the Miteri bridge connecting Nepal-China at Rasuwagadhi was washed away by flood, the construction of Beili Bridge has been started so that it can be built before Dasain to ease the business communication and movement between the two countries.

By the time Belybridge comes into operation, preparations have progressed so that the Syafrubansi-Rasuwagadhi road can also be widened. 

Miteri Bridge was swept away by the flood that occurred on June 24 in the Lhende River, a tributary of the Bhotokoshi River. Since then, the import and export between the two countries has stopped. Syafrubansi-Rasuwagadhi road section is also damaged. After about two weeks, the road maintenance has been improved so that only small vehicles can drive in one direction.

Nepal government requested the Chinese government to immediately build a temporary belay bridge in view of business focused on festivals. According to Keshav Kumar & nbsp;Sharma, Secretary of the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, China has started preparations for the construction of Beili Bridge. "Bellibridge will be completed before ten," he says. 

"Now the cleaning work has started at the place where the bridge will be built, after the technical study of the land, Belibridge will be built a little closer than the previous Miteri bridge," he says. 

Sharma says that the Bely Bridge will remain only temporarily and later a concrete bridge will be built at the old location. "The Chinese side is also advancing the design work for the construction of the concrete bridge while placing the belay bridge," he says. 

According to the Rasuwa Customs Office, around 100 cargo vehicles pass through the checkpoint a day. After the flood, the customs office is deserted. The customs yard in Timure was flooded. 68 vehicles there were swept away by the flood. Sharma says that the Syafrubansi-Rasuwagadhi road will be widened by the time the Belibridge is operational. "Right now, only one-way road is being operated," he says, "before the festival, we will make the road suitable for goods vehicles to pass." The contract for the road improvement of this section was made by China in 2019.

Sharma said that work is being done to assess the cost of road construction from both sides of Nepal and China. "Later, China will build a two-lane road," he said.

The spokesperson of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supply, Jitendra Basnet, says that coordination between the relevant ministries and agencies is underway to create an environment to bring goods from China after the construction of the Bely Bridge before the festival. He said that the Nepal Intermodal Transport Development Committee will assess the damage and lead the clean-up work regarding the flooding in the customs yard.

The Director General of the Road Department, Vijay Jaisi, says that China has started the work for the construction of Beili Bridge and the widening of the road will also start soon. "With the help of the Chinese government, the 16 km road of Syafrubansi-Rasuwagadhi section is being constructed as a two-lane road," he says.