Kathmandu, March 22

Drive from Chabahil to Sankhu and you’ll get a feeling of passing through a disaster zone because the road is dotted with potholes.

Locals, pedestrians and commuters travelling along the 12.5-km road segment have been navigating through puddles during monsoon and inhaling dust in the dry season for over three years, as authorities concerned have failed to complete the construction work on time.

This has deteriorated people’s health, affected commuters as some of the public vehicles have stopped operating on certain stretches of the road, hit business of shops along the road, reduced the life of vehicles and increased petroleum consumption because of slow vehicular movement.

The badly scarred road has also played some role in tarnishing Nepal’s image in the international market, as Bouddha, a popular site for tourists and Buddhist pilgrims, is located on this route.

Tale of missed deadlines: When will work on this road segment be done and dusted?

Chhabahil-Sankhu Road Segment

Contractor

Length of road

Contract amount

Contract award date

Contract deadline

Progress

Chhabahil to Bagmati Bridge at Jorpati

United Builders and Engineers

 3.6 km

 Rs 424.3 m

20-Sep-15

26-Feb-18

35%

Jorpati to Thali

Bajraguru-Chyangmila-Khani JV

 2.4 km

 Rs 360.1 m

20-Sep-15

29-Dec-17

50%

Thali Bazzar to Indreni

Bajraguru-Biruwa-Khani JV

 3 km

 Rs 507.1 m

20-Sep-15

27-Apr-18

40%

Indreni to Sankhu

BT-Sunkoshi-Worldwide JV

 2.46 km

 Rs 301.7 m

20-Sep-15

29-Dec-17

45%

Sankhu area

Lama-Samanantar JV

 1.04 km

 Rs 142.2 m

14-Jul-17

13-Apr-19

40%

Source: Kathmandu Valley Road Improvement Project

Yet Kathmandu Valley Road Improvement Project, the authority concerned, has done precious little despite getting clear instructions from Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and Physical Infrastructure and Transport Minister Raghubir Mahaseth in July and August to complete the work as soon as possible.

Engineers of the project say work is ongoing and the construction will be completed soon every time the issue is raised. Project’s Spokesperson Bishwo Bijaya Lal Shrestha provided the same answer when he was reached for comments today. When asked what “soon” meant, Shrestha said, “June or July.” But he was not sure and quickly added, “I think 80 per cent of the work will be completed by that time.”

Construction of the road formally began in September 2015 and was supposed to be completed in around two-and-a-half years. Initially, agreements were signed with three contractors, who were told to widen the road to 22 metres, with two-metre wide footpath on either side of the road and two-metre wide dividers.

United Builders and Engineers Private Limited was hired to expand 3.6-km road segment from Chabahil to Bagmati Bridge at Jorpati. The contract to expand another 2.4-km road segment from Jorpati to Thali Bazaar was given to Bajraguru-Chyangmila-Khani Joint Venture and the contract to build 3-km road stretch from Thali Bazaar to Indreni was handed over to Bajraguru-Biruwa-Khani Joint Venture. The job of expanding 2.46-km road segment from Indreni to Sankhu was given to BT-Sunkoshi-Worldwide Joint Venture.

Kathmandu Valley Road Improvement Project later roped in Lama-Samanantar Joint Venture to expand 1.04km road section in Sankhu area. An agreement with this contractor was signed in June 2017.

United Builders and Engineers Private Limited, which was hired to expand road segment from Chabahil to Jorpati, was supposed to complete the work by February 2018. But the contractor defaulted on the promise, citing “dispute over compensation, court stay order to stop partial demolition of houses, delay in relocation of electricity poles and continuous leakage from drainages”, Laxman Devkota, an engineer at Kathmandu Valley Road Improvement Project, told THT. The contractor was given additional one year to complete the construction. But that deadline was also missed.

Other contractors have also cited similar reasons for not being able to complete the work on time.

As of now, only 35 per cent of the work has been completed by United Builders. Progress at other road segments range from 40 to 50 per cent, according to Kathmandu Valley Road Improvement Project.

“We have started black-topping the stretch where construction has completed,” said Rabindra Nath Shrestha, director general of the Department of Roads. “The construction will be completed by the end of this fiscal.”