KATHMANDU, MARCH 26
The construction of the four-lane bridge over the Mahakali River in Kanchanpur has resumed after a five-month hiatus.
It is noteworthy that the contractor had suspended the ongoing construction of the bridge in the first week of October 2023 due to non-receipt of payment amounting to millions of rupees as per the agreement.
Recently, the contractor company announced that the remaining construction-related tasks would be completed within six months after the government disbursed payments for work completed last year.
As per reports, the construction of an 8.6-kilometer six-lane road, alongside the four-lane concrete bridge, has achieved 90.19% fiscal progress since its commencement in 2074 BS.
Kishore Raj Pandey, an engineer at Kumar-CFEC JV, stated that the company recently received Rs 85 million for last year's work. He also mentioned that the embankment design for a pond being constructed along the bridge has been approved and is in the process of being submitted to the Department of Roads for 'variation'. Due to this variation, Rs 150 million is still outstanding.
Additionally, approximately 1,500 meters of the 8.06 kilometers six-lane access road remain to be blacktopped in the project. Pandey expressed that all bridge-related tasks could be completed within six months if there were no financial shortages.
The bridge, being constructed at a cost of Rs 3.66 billion, aims to become a key trade point in the far-western region. Concurrently, the construction of a dry port at Dodhara Chandani across the Mahakali River is also underway.
Furthermore, ponds have been constructed on both sides of the bridge to serve as tourist attractions.
Two ponds, each larger than one square kilometer, have been built on the north side, while two ponds spanning 0.3 square kilometers each have been constructed on the south side. Last year, the 'variation' work was postponed due to issues with the pond design.
