Tri-Chandra Campus retrofitting to complete in six months

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, July 25: The retrofitting of the Tri-Chandra Campus, the country's oldest college, has been moving ahead and is expected to complete within six months.

The retrofitting of the campus building started on January 30, 2022, after it was damaged by the Gorkha Earthquake of 2015.

The Central Level Project Implementation Unit (CLPIU), Department of Urban Development and Building Construction under the Ministry of Urban Development, has been engaged in the retrofitting works since 2022.

New-Tech Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd. is retrofitting the Tri-Chandra Campus building after securing the contract worth Rs. 346 million, excluding the Value Added Tax (VAT).

Roshan Shrestha, project director of CLPIU, said that a meeting was held recently with the contractor about the slow work process and they were asked to speed it up. The contract period ended in the month of Ashar, and the contractor is requesting an extension of six months to complete the remaining works.

Approximately 60 per cent of physical progress has been achieved in around four years of retrofitting, and around 42 per cent of the payment has been cleared to the contractor. The payment ratio is lower than the physical progress due to discrepancy in work execution, he said.

Laxmi Subedi, contractor from New-Tech Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd., said that the retrofitting process is delayed due to the rainy season, but interior work continued uninterrupted.

Contractor Subedi said, “It takes more time for the retrofitting process than reconstruction work. It cannot be said that the work is moving slowly."

The construction on the exterior is halted from time to time due to the rainy season, but work inside the building is ongoing, he said. Work has also been halted due to students’ election.

He further said that retrofitting a building means everything will remain intact. There will be no distortion in its original structure. He further said, “We are working to complete the remaining works within coming five to six months.”

A request has been made to the CLPIU to extend the deadline by six months to complete the remaining works, he added.

Ghantaghar, which stands on the premises of Tri-Chandra Campus, will also be repaired. The clock will come into operation after changing its damaged equipment, said Subedi. 

The college building suffered damage in the major earthquakes of 1934 and 2015. The college was established in 1918 during the regime of the fourth Rana Prime Minister, Chandra Shamsher.

Similarly, the Ghantaghar was built in 1894 by Rana Prime Minister Bir Shumsher and was rebuilt after being destroyed in the earthquake of 1990 BS.