Kathmandu, March 5
The Nepali Army has inked contracts with eight private contractors to work on the Kathmandu-Terai Fast-track project. The army expects sign such contracts with 14 more companies in the near future, a spokesperson for the NA says.
The Nepali Army was called in to develop the 76.2km road that would considerably reduce travel time between Kathmandu and the Terai. There are also plans to build a second international airport in Nijgadh, where the the fast-track ends.
In November 2016, the Prachanda-led government scrapped all deals the previous government had reached with the Indian company IL&FS for the construction of the road. When Sushil Koirala was Prime Minister, the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure had a detailed project report prepared. The report had recommended awarding the project contract to IL&FS, an Indian company. This move had triggered strong opposition, with opponents pointing out that the contract would cause the country a loss of Rs 40 billion. Then KP Oli At the meeting, Minister for Finance Krishna Bahadur Mahara informed that governments have so far allocated Rs 10.013 billion for the project. Mahara said there’s no fund crunch for the project, adding that failure to spend the budget is the real problem.
The army says it cannot complete the project on its own and is hiring local and international contractors. “The army is also doing its bit. We want to expedite the construction work,” said spokesperson Gokul Bhandari. He added that the Nepali Army is now concentrating its efforts towards clearing of forests in Makwanpur’s Budune area.
“While Nepali contractors can work on track-cutting, filling and building of retention walls, we need international contractors to build other complicated structures,” he added. The Nepali Army does not have a working DPR of the project. But it has said that would not stop it from expediting the project.
The army has now set nine camps near Nijgadh, Rajamdar, Thingan and Khokana to work on the fast-track, which is to have a width of 23 m in the hilly areas and 25m in the planes. A total of 99 bridges are to be built, along with a tunnel near Thingan in Makwanpur. According to government reports, the total travel time between Kathmandu and Nijgadh, after the completion of the project, will be reduced to under 60 minutes.
