Only 23% of the East-West Highway’s Butwal-Narayanghat section’s road widening has been completed in 48 months. According to the online magazine epardafas.com, a Chinese contractor’s unfinished project is now contributing to traffic accidents.
The project had to be finished by mid-July 2022, according to the Asian Development Bank, which provided funding for the project in the amount of 17 billion Nepalese rupees (NPR) in 2019.
The non-completion of the work has left the busiest road along the East-West Highway filled with potholes which is not only delaying travel but is also leading to road accidents, the report said.
The report quoted the Team Leader of China State Construction Engineering Corporation Limited, who said that “In the initial stage, there was a delay in many important works like deployment of equipment, delay in permission from the park and forest for cutting trees, delay in moving the electricity poles and the closure of the crusher industry in the district”.
The report further said that the closure of the crusher industry has led to a shortage of construction materials.
According to the construction side, the obstruction of the road has not been removed within the deadline for the completion of the road expansion. “Until now, only 99 per cent of the tree-cutting work has been completed,” he said. “Only 30 per cent of the electric pole moving work has been completed, so there is a problem with road expansion.”
Although the construction company representative in Nepal stated that the project deadline has been extended by one year, and 50 per cent progress will be achieved by that time.
Only 23% of the work has been finished so far.
Ramesh Kumar, the district chief for the Narayanghat-Butwal Road Project’s (Eastern Sector), claimed that he constantly urges the construction firm to move the project along more quickly.
The road from Gaindakot to Danda is currently being expanded. According to the report, work on demolishing buildings and trimming trees so they don’t obstruct the road is nearly finished.