Kathmandu, September 22 The government is preparing to ink an agreement with Japanese firm Hazama Ando Corporation to construct the 2.69-kilometre-long Nagdhunga-Naubise tunnel project on Monday. Arjun Jung Karki, deputy director general of the Department of Roads (DoR), informed that the Japanese firm had informed the department that they would approach it for an agreement on Monday. “We have been calling Hazama to ink the agreement since long. As the developer has said it will come to sign the agreement on Monday, we are expecting to finally seal the deal.” On October 25 last year, six international construction firms had submitted their tender documents to DoR for the construction of the tunnel project. Among them, five were Chinese firms and one was a Japanese company. However, the government had awarded the project to the Japanese firm. Though the construction of the project was expected to start from March itself, it was delayed due to unresolved issues related to site clearance and land compensation. However, as these issues have been sorted out and the Japanese firm has completed all legal provisions including the bank guarantee, the project is expected to gain momentum following formal project agreement with the Japanese firm. Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is the development partner of the project and had earlier finalised the evaluation of both the technical and financial proposals that were submitted by the Japanese contractor for project. JICA is providing loan assistance of $141.41 million to the government for the construction of the tunnel project. The estimated cost of the project hovers around $188.19 million. The remaining cost of the project will be borne by the government. The government has allocated Rs 6.27 billion for the project in the budget for the ongoing fiscal year. DoR plans to complete the project by June 2021, which is expected to make travelling in and out of Kathmandu Valley a lot easier once it is completed.