KATHMANDU, FEBRUARY 9
The Finance Ministry and the National Planning Commission have vowed to ensure sufficient budget for the Kathmandu-Tarai expressway.
At the meeting of the delegated management and government assurance committee of the National Assembly today, Vice-chairperson of the NPC Bishwanath Poudel said that there would not be inadequacy of capital spending for the national pride project. He further reminded that the project was forwarded for transformation of the country. "The construction must be intensified with reliable predictability," he added.
On the occasion, committee Chairperson Ram Narayan Bidari stated that the expressway was not only a national pride project of the Defence Ministry, Nepali Army and the contractor, but also of the entire nation. He pointed out the need to establish separate desk at the Prime Minister's Office in a bid to ensure financial resources and necessary cooperation.
Secretary at Defence Ministry Kiran Raj Sharma informed that the project was forwarded in 11 packages. So far, call for bidding for five packages had been made.
The completion of the expressway being managed by the Nepali Army is aimed before 2025. The cost of the project is Rs 175 billion. The expressway links Khokana, Lalitpur to Nijgadh, Bara. There will be some 87 motorable bridges and three tunnels in the expressway.
The Ministry and the NPC have suggested timely completion of the project.
A version of this article appears in the print on February 10, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
