Kathmandu, November 21
Officials of Nepal and China have scheduled their next meeting to discuss how to take forward the proposed cross-border railway project for the second week of December.
The meeting will be held in Kathmandu to discuss preparing the detailed project report for Kyirong-Kathmandu railway, according to Nepali officials.
A Chinese team has finalised the preliminary feasibility report of the project around three months ago. The two countries have not discussed the issue further since then.
The preliminary study has concluded that will cost around Rs 257 billion. Likewise, the project will take around nine years to complete.
The railway will be 72.25 kilometre long.
The study conducted by China Railway First Survey and Design Institute had further concluded that 98.55 per cent section of the railway would be covered by tunnels and bridges.
Meanwhile, Nepal and China are yet to discuss which modality will be adopted for the project. China has expressed its interest to construct the railway with subsidised loans. However, Nepal has been insisting that China do the project as a grant.
The Chinese government had covered all costs of the preliminary feasibility study that lasted for around one month.
Before that, in May, the two countries had agreed to launch a feasibility study.
