Palpa, September 23
Preparations are underway to open the under-construction Siddhababa Tunnel to traffic by mid-November.
The Siddhababa Tunnel Project Office in Butwal has expedited work to bring the main tunnel and other required infrastructure to the final stage of construction.
Project chief Navaraj Bastola said preparations were being made to allow vehicles to operate through the tunnel by mid-November, as road construction and other civil works inside the tunnel have been completed.
“Construction was pushed back by a month due to delays in the delivery of construction materials caused by the monsoon and the Bhotekoshi floods. Once the materials arrive in the next few days, we will proceed with the remaining work inside the tunnel. We will operate vehicles by December 1,” Bastola said.
The planned opening was affected after the Bhotekoshi floods swept away electrical equipment brought for the tunnel project, he said.
Paving inside the tunnel has been completed, and painting is underway. Finishing work on the technical building is also in progress. Civil works, including lining and concrete works on the floor and walls, have already been completed. Electromechanical works remain to be completed.
According to the project information officer and engineer Saumya Anand, the project has achieved 69.70 per cent physical progress and 63.55 per cent financial progress so far.
Excavation and lining of the main and bypass tunnels, construction of 14 culverts and installation of precast structures inside the tunnel have been completed, Anand said. Three bypasses have been constructed.
Once the internal works are completed, work will begin to secure the road section outside the tunnel. Rock sheds, rockfall barriers and slope protection measures will be installed to protect the tunnel’s external section from landslides.
The 1,126-metre tunnel was awarded under a contract signed in February 2022, with construction beginning in April 2022. China State Construction Engineering Corporation is constructing the project under a contract worth Rs 7.342 billion.
The tunnel is being constructed along the landslide-prone section of the Siddhartha Highway between the lower Siddhababa Temple and Dobhan in Palpa. The section is also prone to dry landslides during the dry season, prompting the government to build the tunnel to improve road safety.
Once operational, the government-funded tunnel is expected to reduce the risks posed by landslides and falling rocks in the Siddhababa area.
Residents of Gulmi, Arghakhanchi, Palpa and Pyuthan in Lumbini Province, as well as Syangja, Parbat, Baglung and Myagdi in Gandaki Province, are expected to benefit directly from the project.
—RSS
