Narayanghat-Butwal road project gets one-year deadline extension

KATHMANDU: The government has extended the deadline of the Narayanghat-Butwal Road Upgradation Project by a year.

The Department of Roads awarded the project to China State Construction Engineering Corporation in February 2019, with a three-year deadline. The company is executing the project by dividing the road into two sections – the eastern stretch spanning 65 kilometers (Narayanghat-Daunne) and the western segment covering 49 kilometers (Daunne-Butwal).

According to Chuda Dhakal, the project director of the Narayanghat-Butwal Road Upgradation Project, the deadline for the western section has been extended by 350 days and the eastern section by 330 days. “The contractor is bringing a large asphalt plant to expedite blacktopping works. It will arrive soon after clearing the customs,” Dhakal said. “We expect the project to gain pace once the plant becomes operational.”

Dhakal also said that the deadline was extended as termination of the contract would mean going through the lengthy procurement process which would push the project further back.

Rakesh Jha of China State Construction Engineering Corporation said that the project has achieved 38% physical progress in both sections.

The project is being implemented with loan financing from the Asian Development Bank.

“The project suffered delays due to COVID-19, shortage of construction material, and delays in obtaining permission for felling trees and relocating electricity poles. Since all these issues have been sorted, the work will gain pace now,” he added.

The road section will have six lanes in city areas, four lanes in forest areas and three lanes in the difficult Daunne Hill stretch.