Scarcity of construction materials delays road development

By Chhabilal Pande Butwal, Dec. 25: The construction work on the Butwal-Gorusinghe road has been progressing very slowly due to the scarcity of substances such as sand and gravel. Even though the project was initiated nearly a year ago, only about 17 per cent of the work has been finished so far.

The Butwal-Gorusinghe Road Project Office in Butwal informed that the development activities have currently slackened due to the shortage of building materials. Yet most of the works such as drainage ditch building on either side of the road, diversion, culverts, and boundary walls have been almost finished. Nevertheless, the project informed that there is a shortage of required substances together with stones, sand, gravel, and concrete mixtures which has caused problems and is slowing down works. 

Chief of the Butwal-Gorusinghe Road Project Office, Kushalata Neupane, said, “The work has been impeded due to the deficiency of river-related construction materials, and that they have so far talked to the construction company about the issue.”  

For the project, nearly 3 million cubic metres of river-related materials are necessary, but so far only about 580,000 cubic metres have been made available. Though Sainamaina Municipality and Butwal Sub-Metropolitan City have determined to provide soil and sand for the project, the method has been delayed, prompting a delay in the work. 

The road construction work has been affected due to the municipalities not being able to provide the needed river matters timely. The stacking work for the bridge and the erection of the pillars have already been completed, and the underpass for animal movement has also been completed. The 50-kilometre Butwal-Gorusinghe road section was first built during the rule of King Mahendra in 2019 B.S., and after 62 years, vital reconstruction work has started again. 

Contrary to the Butwal-Narayangadh road, the project informs people will not overlook many hardships here, as the tarring sections will not be totally damaged during the work which is in progress. The Chinese company Sanshi Construction Engineering Group Corporation, simultaneously with Chitwan-based Aashish Construction Sewa JV, inked a contract worth Rs. 13.55 billion in June last year. As per the project, the 50-kilometre Butwal-Gorusinghe road has been divided into two sections of 25 kilometres each for development work. 

The project agreement for the road development was signed in October last year and the foundation stone was laid in January this year. As per the project, the road will consist of six underpasses for vehicles, 12 walker underpasses, 11 overhead bridges, and 19 wildlife underpasses in regions where animals regularly cross.