Kagbeni-Korala road set to be blacktopped

BY THAKUR PRASAD ACHARYA, Myagdi, Nov. 27: Blacktopping of the 103-kilometre road section from Kagbeni in Mustang to Korala under Kaligandaki Corridor, a national pride project, is all set to begin. 

The road section has already been gravelled. 

According to the project, the road section was being blacktopped to facilitate travel through the road since the Korala border in Kagbeni was opened. Since the road has already been gravelled, authorities are now preparing to ask the Ministry of Finance for the required budget to blacktop it. It is said that a proposal to submit to the ministry has been prepared. 

Meanwhile, the blacktopping of the 13-kilometre road section from Jomsom to Kagbeni has begun by entrusting to a contractor.

Achyut Bilas Pant, Engineer of the Kaligandaki Corridor (Beni-Jomsom) road Project, said that a proposal was being prepared with the estimated budget for the blacktopping of the 20-km road in the current fiscal year to be submitted to the Ministry of Finance. He said that they would submit the proposal within a few days. 

Pant said they had reminded and instructed the construction company to blacktop the road from Galeshwor to Narchyang under Myagdi section. He said that they were considering ending the contract for the under-construction Maldhunga-Beni road project due to delays in the project. 

Meanwhile, the blacktopping of the 2100-metre road along the Beni-Galeshwor road section under the same project was started by keeping a prime card on Saturday.

The Beni-Jomsom Korala road upgrade project including two-lane blacktopping and gravelling which started in the 2016/17 fiscal year has achieved 75 per cent physical progress. Out of 13 sections, the construction of eight sections has been completed. 

Due to difficult geography, natural disasters and delays in construction work, the road construction in Myagdi section has not been able to achieve the desired pace. 

The projects under construction in Myagdi, Mustang and Parbat are estimated to cost Rs. 7.55 billion. However, more than Rs. 6 billion was spent by the last fiscal year. 

So far, 85 km of gravel in six sections and 17 km of blacktopping in two sections have been completed.