Narayangadh-Butwal Road expansion project makes 58% physical progress

By Bomlal Giri,Nawalpur, Mar. 22: Only 58 per cent work of the Narayangadh-Butwal section along the East-West Highway expansion project has been completed. 

According to Rakesh Jha, Project Manager of the contractor company, the eastern section has achieved 58 per cent progress, while the western section has reached nearly 59 per cent.

Jha said that around eight-kilometre stretch of road is being blacktopped each month. Three bridges, including the Lokaha Bridge connecting Kawasoti and Devchuli municipalities, have come into operation since Thursday.

The newly constructed Dumkibas bridge, damaged by an Indian truck, is also halfway complete and is expected to be operational before the monsoon, according to Jha.

The Chinese contractor company, China State Construction Corporation Ltd., which had not resumed work for four months even after receiving an extension, has now intensified efforts in both the eastern and western sections, said Anuja Adhikari, Chief of the Eastern Section of the Road Project.

Information Officer of the Western Section, Engineer Shiva Khanal, added that the project is currently progressing at the fastest pace compared to the past six years.

The contractor company reported that ongoing work includes blacktopping, culvert construction, soil filling, bridge building and hill-cutting in the Daunne section.

China State was required to complete 70 per cent of the one-way blacktopping by December 10, 2024,  and finish blacktopping the entire Narayangadh-Butwal road (one-way) by March 30, 2025. The deadline extension was granted for one year after the company agreed to meet these conditions. The final extended deadline is now July 24, 2025.

The first condition has already passed. The contractor has said that even the second condition -- completing one-way blacktopping by March 30, 2025, may not be met.

“The government is pressing us to complete one-way blacktopping by mid-April, 2025, and that is our goal as well,” said Project Manager Jha. “If we cannot finish everything, we will ensure all sections except Daunne are completed before the monsoon,” he added.

The project is divided into two sections. Of the total 114 km stretch, 70 km will have six lanes, 29 km will have four lanes along with 6-metre-wide service lanes on both sides and the Daunne section will feature a 14 km three-lane road. In addition, 64 bridges and 462 culverts are planned as part of the project.