KATHMANDU: The government has moved ahead with plans to upgrade the 69.92-km Hetauda-Narayangadh section of the East-West Highway into a wider road, with a minimum of four lanes.
The Project Directorate (ADB) under the Department of Roads has invited a global tender for the first phase of upgrading the Hetauda-Narayangadh section. The section is part of the 100-km Pathlaiya-Hetauda-Narayangadh corridor.
The project is being implemented with financial support from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) under the South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation Highway Improvement and Ecosystem Restoration Project.
The 69.92-km section has been divided into three packages. The first package covers 39.92 km in Makwanpur, from chainage 397+400 to 437+320. The second covers 26.18 km from 437+320 to 463+500, extending up to Tikauli in Chitwan. The third package covers the 3.82-km Tikauli-Gondrang section, from chainage 463+500 to 467+320.
The existing two-lane road will be expanded to at least four lanes. According to the project design, around 19.305 km of the road will have a right-of-way of up to 50 meters, while the Hetauda urban section will have a width of around 45.8 meters.
In semi-urban areas, 16.7 km of the road will be widened to 37.4 meters, while 33.915 km through rural and forest areas will have a width of 24 meters.
The upgraded road will have eight lanes with service lanes in urban areas, six lanes in semi-urban areas and four lanes in other sections.
Interested companies can submit their bids by October 12. Contractors can apply for one, more than one, or all three packages. The bids will be opened at 1 pm on the same day.
