MCA-Nepal signs $23.66 million contracts for Road Maintenance Project

KATHMANDU: Millennium Challenge Account Nepal (MCA-Nepal) has signed two contracts worth $23.66 million for road upgrading and maintenance works under the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Nepal Compact.

MCA-Nepal on Monday signed a $20 million contract with Sharma–Kumar Joint Venture for road upgrading works on the Dhankhola–Lamahi section of the East–West Highway. The project will use Full-Depth Reclamation (FDR) and Superpave technology, the MCA said in a statement issued on Monday.

Likewise, MCA-Nepal has signed a $3.66 million contract with Intercontinental Consultants and Technocrats Pvt Ltd (ICT) for consulting services, including supervision of the Dhankhola–Lamahi road upgrading works, and design and construction supervision for periodic maintenance of the Narayanghat–Mugling road section.

The contract for the Dhankhola–Lamahi road works was signed and exchanged by MCA-Nepal Executive Director Khadga Bahadur Bisht and Saurav Sharma, the authorized representative of Sharma–Kumar Joint Venture.

US Ambassador to Nepal Dean Thompson, Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Finance Dr Dhani Ram Sharma, Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport Sushil Babu Dhakal, Director General of the Department of Roads Dr Bijaya Jaishi, and MCC and MCA Nepal officials were present on the occasion.

The project involves upgrading a 40-kilometer Dhankhola–Lamahi stretch of the East–West Highway with a 7-meter carriageway and 2.5-meter shoulders on both sides. It also includes periodic maintenance of the Narayanghat–Mugling road section.

Speaking on the occasion, US Ambassador Thompson said the two projects represent another milestone in the US–Nepal partnership and the implementation of the MCC Compact. Similarly, Joint Secretary Sharma said the use of new technologies would pave the way for sustainable, effective, and cost-efficient road maintenance in Nepal.