Minister for Infrastructure Development Sunil Lamsal said that adequate budget has been allocated for the improvement of the Karnali Highway and that the one-lane road will be gradually upgraded to two-lane in the coming days.
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The government will construct underpasses and overpasses on major highways across the country to reduce road accidents and ensure safe movement, Minister for Infrastructure Development Sunil Lamsal has said. Responding to questions raised on the ministry's budget under the Appropriation Bill, 2083, in today's meeting of the National Assembly, he said that the government has given high priority to road safety.
Informing that the construction of bridges in rivers and risky places will be accelerated to reduce the risk of road accidents, he said that the target is to construct 3,000 bridges across the country.
In response to a question raised by MP Durga Kumari Gurung regarding the poor condition of the Karnali Highway, road accidents and delays in rescue operations, Minister Lamsal admitted that the condition of the roads in Karnali is challenging. He said that sufficient budget has been allocated for the improvement of the Karnali Highway and that one-lane roads will be gradually upgraded to two lanes in the coming days.
'To prevent such a situation from recurring, we have introduced a program to expand one-lane roads into two lanes. The goal is to start the contract process for the expansion of all one-lane roads within the current fiscal year,' Minister Lamsal said.
He said that disaster management will be made more effective and safe transportation will be ensured by upgrading tourist highways. Minister Lamsal said that despite the challenges of landslides and monsoon changes, a special plan has been put forward for landslide management to complete the remaining road sections of the Kaligandaki Corridor. He said that a budget has also been made for the sustainable management of landslide-prone areas identified across the country.
Minister Lamsal informed that arrangements have been made to reduce the process that takes 18 to 21 months to complete it in six to seven months to end the delay in the public procurement process.
Minister Lamsal said that the contracts with contractors who did not complete the projects due to negligence of construction entrepreneurs have been canceled despite repeated extensions. 'We have initiated the cancellation process for some more projects. Some construction entrepreneurs have been given a final warning to complete the work and some have even been blacklisted,' he said.
