Siddhababa tunnel breakthrough slated for January 24

By Our Correspondent

Bhairahawa, Jan. 15: The long-awaited 'breakthrough' of the Siddhababa Tunnel, a national pride project, is to be made by Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on January 24, 2025.

The organising committee has confirmed that Prime Minister Oli will participate in the event. Previously planned for January 21, 2025, the breakthrough ceremony has been rescheduled to January 24.

The chief of the tunnel project, Krishna Raj Adhikari, said that the breakthrough is planned after a prolonged wait. “It has been confirmed that the Prime Minister will be present for the event,” he added.

According to Adhikari, the date was set based on the Prime Minister's schedule, and preparations are underway to make the ceremony special.

Only 1.5 metres of the tunnel remains to be excavated. The Siddhababa Tunnel project was initiated to address the high-risk accident-prone area on the Butwal–Palpa section of the Siddhartha Highway. Out of the 1,126-metre-long tunnel, 1,089 metres have already been excavated. Of this, 1,087.5 metres have been dug, leaving just 1.5 metres for the breakthrough.

Previously, three bypass tunnels were connected to the main tunnel. The breakthrough of Bypass Tunnel 3 was conducted on September 11, 2024, Bypass Tunnel 1 on September 20, 2024 and Bypass Tunnel 2 on December 22, 2024. These bypass tunnels measure 151, 261 and 330 metres, respectively. 

Excavation of 608 metres on the southern side and 479.5 metres on the northern side has been completed. On the day of the breakthrough ceremony, the remaining 1.5-metre section will be blasted.

Once the main tunnel breakthrough is achieved, work will accelerate on lining the tunnel walls and floor. The paving work for the vehicle lane has already begun. Following this, work on electrification, ventilation and drainage systems will be expedited, said Sabita Gyawali, Information Officer of the Project. 

She added that the physical progress of the tunnel stands at 39.49 per cent, while financial progress is at 39.9 per cent. After the breakthrough, other tasks will proceed rapidly.

In the Siddhababa area, 1,495 square metres of rock shed work have been completed on the southern side to prevent landslides on the current road. On the northern side, 495 square metres of protection work is ongoing. Rock shed construction, rockfall barriers and slope protection work are being carried out on the operational road.

The China State Construction Engineering Corporation is executing the project at Rs. 7.34 billion under an Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract model.