Kathmandu–Tarai/Madhesh Expressway will be completed on time: Army

KATHMANDU: The Nepal Army has said that the Kathmandu–Tarai/Madhesh Fast Track Road Project will be completed within the stipulated timeframe.

Project Director Dharmendra Kumar Jha told RSS news agency that the construction work being carried out under the Army’s management is moving ahead with urgency. The Army took charge of the 70.977-kilometer project in April 2017.

The project has so far achieved 43.6% physical progress and 44.72% financial progress, according to the army. Of the 87 bridges planned along the route, several are in their final phase of construction, including some as tall as 82 meters, Jha said.

He added that the project will be completed by the end of March 2027 (Chait 2083) within the initially estimated cost of Rs 213 billion.

Once completed, the expressway will provide a short, direct link between Kathmandu Valley and the central Tarai.

Of the seven tunnels under the project, two have been fully excavated, two are under construction, and portal work is ongoing for the remaining three, according to the army.