KATHMANDU: The ongoing upgrade of the Maharajgunj–Chappal Karkhana road under the Ring Road Expansion Project has become a symbol of delayed development.
Although the 700-meter stretch was supposed to be completed by the end of the current fiscal year (mid-July), only about one-third of the work has been completed so far. With just a week remaining before the deadline, 65% of the work is still incomplete.
Ambuja/SK/Kali JV, which began its work in February, has managed to complete only around 35% of the 700-meter road in five months.
However, Arjun Nepali, the Information Officer at Road Division, Kathmandu, said the delay is not solely due to the contractor. Issues related to relocating telephone lines, water supply pipes and sewer systems have affected the project, he added.
“We awarded the contract with the expectation of completing the work within mid-July. The initial work pace was good. But the inability to manage utilities like telephone cables, electric poles, water pipes and drainage in time caused delays,” he told MeroAuto. “Now, monsoon rains have affected the work. We expect the work to gain momentum after the rains subside.”
Nepali said construction of drainage, RCC walls, culverts and retaining walls on both sides of the road has been completed so far. Likewise, the sub-base layer has been laid on the service lane from the right side of Narayan Gopal Chowk.
“The contractor was preparing to install the CTB layer for blacktopping, but rain affected its work. Blacktopping will resume once the weather improves,” he added.
On the left side, work on the service lane is underway. According to Nepali, 100 meters of road excavation work is remaining on this side. “We will start sub-base work once the excavation work is completed,” he added.
The expansion of the Kalanki–Bashundhara section of the Ring Road is supposed to be implemented with a grant assistance from China. However, because of the delays on the Chinese side, the government decided to begin work on the Maharajgunj–Dhobikhola stretch using domestic funds.
The government awarded a contract for the first 700 metres of the 2.4 km Maharajgunj–Dhobikhola section for Rs 250 million.
The design for the Maharajgunj–Chappal Karkhana stretch was prepared by the Road Division, Kathmandu, itself. According to Nepali, the remaining 1.7 km segment — from Chappal Karkhana to Dhobikhola Bridge — will be awarded in the next fiscal year.
The government has allocated Rs 1.24 billion in the upcoming budget for that purpose.
The road currently under construction will match the standard of the Koteshwor–Kalanki section which was built with Chinese assistance. It will be an eight-lane road, with four central lanes and two service lanes on either side.
China completed the first phase (10.39 km) of the Ring Road Expansion (Koteshwor–Kalanki) Project six years ago.
Contractor seeks 6-month extension
As the project is unlikely to be completed on time, the contractor has requested a six-month extension to the project timeline.
“Since the work won’t be completed within mid-July, the contractor has proposed a six-month extension. We will assess the progress and pending work before deciding on deadline extension,” Nepali said. “But the timeline is unlikely to be extended by six months as requested.”
