Nawalpur: The expansion of the Narayangadh-Butwal road section under the East-West Highway has only been completed by 46 percent in five years since the work began. The contract for the road project has already been extended twice, but the work is far from over, said Information Officer Engineer Shiv Khanal of the Narayangadh-Butwal Road Extension Plan, Eastern Section. Out of the total 114 km road from Narayangadh to Butwal, 65 km of road falls within the eastern section.
According to Khanal, the road expansion work has not been able to accelerate due to the contractors not adhering to the plans they have made. “We are constantly putting pressure on them to work according to the schedule and complete the project on time,” he said. The China State Construction Engineering Corporation Limited was awarded the contract to complete the expansion project within four years, starting in 2075 B.S.
Meanwhile, Rakesh Jha, contract co-manager of China State Construction Engineering Corporation Limited, stated that the road expansion work cannot be completed during the second extension period and that the deadline should be extended by one more year. The road expansion was delayed due to various reasons, including the current weather hindering the blacktopping of the finishing section of the road. Additionally, the work of relocating water supply and electricity poles, as well as a 30 KV transmission line in Siji, Gandakot, and Dumkibas areas, is yet to be completed, he said.
After the expansion of the existing two-lane road, the highway will be seven meters wide on both sides, with a service lane of six meters each constructed in the market area. Information Officer Khanal said that the 42.7 km section of the road will have four lanes, while the southern section will have three lanes for about five km. In this section, 12 large bridges and 22 small bridges are under construction. The construction of this section started with 85 percent loan support from the Asian Development Bank, and the total cost of this section is Rs 9.38 billion.
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