Kathmandu, March 18

The South Korean consultant company, Soosung Engineering and Consulting, that was contracted to prepare the detailed project report (DPR) of the 76.2-kilometre-long Kathmandu-Tarai Fast Track has submitted the final DPR of the project to the Nepali Army (NA) today.

Brigadier General Yam Bahadur Dhakal, spokesperson for NA, informed that the Korean firm had submitted the final DPR of the project.

“We have received a final report of the DPR.”

Dhakal further said that they will soon forward the report to the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers via the Ministry of Defence for final approval.

After getting approval from the Cabinet, NA will finalise the earlier tender for the tunnel and bridge works.

Moreover, he said that the final report has addressed some concerns raised by the locals of Khokana regarding preservation of their cultural and historical settlements.

“We have changed the alignment of the project slightly,”

Dhakal said, adding that the starting point of the Fast Track has been moved from the earlier point. However, he refused to mention the exact length of the alignment that has been changed.

Earlier, NA had reviewed the draft report and suggested the Korean firm to prepare a final DPR. “The final DPR of the project was examined by our engineering team and we have found it to be a suitable one.”

The Nepali Army had awarded the contract to prepare the detailed project report to the South Korean firm on October 2 last year at a cost of Rs 101.2 million.

NA has been assigned the full responsibility to carry out the Fast Track project, which it has segregated into three segments. Out of the 76.2-kilometre-long expressway, it plans to construct 17 km on its own, hire dependable Nepali contractors for 37 km of the stretch and sign up foreign contractors for remaining 22.2 km section, which will include tunnels and bridges.