Only 7% of Koshi Corridor blacktopped in 14 months

By Dhyan Kulung

Sankhuwasabha, Sept 26 : The Khandbari-Noom section of the North-South Koshi Highway that connects Nepal with China to the north and India to the south, has achieved only 7 per cent physical progress since the construction company signed the agreement for the project 14 months ago.

An agreement was signed with a construction company 14 months ago to blacktop the road from the district headquarters of Sankhuwasabha to Noom village in the same district in Province 1. 

Representative of the construction company, Sharma Shivashakti JV, Surendra Pathak, informed about the progress in a meeting called by the District Coordination Committee (DCC) following multiple complaints that progress on the road was very poor and it was left dug and neglected in multiple places which has made the transportation difficult and uncertain. 

Local people complain that Sharma Shivashakti JV, the company that got the contract to blacktop the road, has exhibited indifference to work. The company dug the road following the agreement but did not finish the job so the road has become muddy and transportation has come to a halt. While about half of the project period has passed, the progress is very poor and complains of locals has been increasing. 

At the DCC meeting, the representatives of the political parties active in the district asked the construction company for an explanation about the reason for not proceeding with the construction work. 

Ananta Gauli, acting chairman of the Nepali Congress Sankhuwasabha, said that it is sad that the work has not started even after half the time to complete the construction has passed. He suggested to scrap the current contract as it failed to deliver results even after 14 months, and start a process for new contract. 

Jit Bahadur Ghimire, chairman of CPN-UML Sankhuwasabha, pointed out that there were weaknesses from the North-South Koshi Road Project Office as well for the lackluster. 

He accused the office for remaining silent even though the project was moving ahead at a snail's pace. He also maintained that if the blacktopping is not completed within the given time, the office also should be held accountable. 

In response, Pathak said that since the rains have stopped, work will be expedited. He informed that the work could not be done continuously due to the rains, and there is a plan to complete the blacktopping of seven-kilometre road and structure construction in other areas by mid-April 2023. 

Since the project was contracted and started during the COVID-19 period, it will get a year's extension to complete the job. Pathak expressed his commitment to complete all the works within the extended deadline.

The meeting has decided to monitor whether the work has been done on the basis of Pathak. It also decided that the representatives of all political parties, North-South Koshi Road Project Office, media persons and other stakeholders under the DCC will continue monitoring work. 

If the company couldn't deliver the results as it committed by mid-April next year, the contract would be scrapped and process to punish the contractor would begin. 

Sharma Shivashakti JV had entered into an agreement with Sankhuwasabha office of North-South Koshi Road Project on 1 July 2021 with a deadline to complete the project on 2 January 2024. 

The company had won the contract with low-bidding (about 48 per cent below the proposed cost of the project) for 39 km stretch. 

It had accepted the contract at Rs. 1.27 billion while Rs. 2.60 billion was allocated for the project.