Karnali Corridor to be blacktopped

By Prem Raj Simkhada,Kalikot, May 16: The northern section of the Karnali Corridor is set to be blacktopped. A total of 123 kilometres of road from Khulalu in Kalikot to Sallisalla in Humla will be upgraded with blacktopping.

Following the completion of the track opening along the 123-kilometre stretch, a multi-year contract agreement has been reached for upgrading the road to blacktop standards, according to the Karnali Corridor Project Office, Bajura.

A proposal had been submitted to the Ministry of Finance seeking approval for a multi-year contract worth Rs. 3.15 billion to blacktop three sections: 13 km from Khulalu to Kot in Kalikot, 15 km from Bhukkakhola to Piluchaur in Bajura, and 13 km from Tumcha to Sallisalla in Humla.

Project Chief Bisundas Lamichhane of the Karnali Corridor, Bajura, said that funding for the section has been secured and that contracts for 41 kilometres of road will be managed shortly.

The 35 km gravel section from Khulalu to Salli, the entry point of the corridor in Kalikot, has already been upgraded. Similarly, 14 km of road from Ghatachaur in Palanta to Bhukkakhola has had hard rock sections cleared by the Nepali Army, according to Project Chief Lamichhane. He further informed that only after the Nepali Army submits its report on the 14 km hard rock section will contract arrangements for blacktopping and further upgrading be carried out.

Contract management has already begun and work is underway on two sections: 23 km from Pilichaur to Kubadi and 27 km from Kubadi to Tumcha. Physical progress currently stands at around 17 per cent, and Rs 240 million has been spent in the current fiscal year, the project chief said.

Nine bridges under construction 

Out of 15 bridges planned along the Karnali Corridor road section, nine are currently under construction, while funding has been secured for six bridges.

According to Project Chief Lamichhane, Rs. 620 million has been secured for the construction of these six bridges.

A multi-year contract agreement has been requested from the Ministry of Finance for six bridges located at Bhukkakhola (on the Kalikot–Bajura border), Serakhola and Bandukhola in Bajura, Tusarekhola, Paima Khola, and Makai Khola, and the funding has now been confirmed.

The project office has stated that some sections of the Pilichaur–Kubadi stretch will be blacktopped by the end of the current fiscal year.