Baglung, August 26
How long should it take to blacktop a road? The answer would normally be two or three years at most. However, 10 years after the contract was signed to blacktop the Baglung headquarters section of the Mid-Hill Pushpalal Highway, the work remains incomplete.
The authorities are preparing to award a new contract for the Baglung headquarters section. The process for a new contract has begun after the agreement with Bharat/Siddhisai JV, which was signed to complete the blacktopping work within two years, was terminated.
Ujjwal Sharma, information officer at the Mid-Hill Pushpalal Highway Project Office in Parbat, said the process of awarding a new contract had begun after the previous contract was terminated on January 1. The contractor failed to complete the work despite receiving five extensions, and the contract was subsequently terminated, with the process of recovering the amount due from the contractor also initiated.
The project office has sent documents to the Ministry of Finance through the National Planning Commission for evaluation of the new contract, a cost-estimate report and confirmation of funding. The road section has deteriorated further in recent days. Travellers using the road have been suffering from mud during the monsoon and dust during the dry season.
The condition of the road has continued to deteriorate since the contract was terminated, while some of the completed infrastructure has also been damaged.
“Based on a study of the work completed by the previous contractor and the additional infrastructure that needs to be included in the new contract, we have proposed around Rs 250 million to the Ministry of Finance for funding,” said engineer Sharma.
The study report shows that Rs 93.6 million needs to be recovered from the contractor whose contract was terminated.
“We are preparing to invite a new tender soon. It will probably be completed within four months,” Sharma said.
The 13-kilometre Baglung-Bihun section was contracted to Bharat/Siddhisai on January 28, 2017, for Rs 436.5 million, with a deadline of two years. The contractor has already received Rs 340.3 million in payments. The road has deteriorated further due to the monsoon, while potholes have developed in sections that have already been blacktopped.
