Makwanpur. KATHMANDU: The construction of the Kathmandu-Tarai-Madhes fast track project, one of the national pride projects, has made 45 percent progress. The overall physical and financial progress of the project is 45.16 and 45.33 percent respectively.

According to the project, five out of seven tunnels to be constructed at Mahadevdanda, Dhedre, Lendanda, Chandra Bhir, Devichaur, Sisautar and Mauri Bhir are under construction. According to the Nepal Army Road Construction Project Task Force, four tunnels (breakthrough) have been completed in Dhedre and Lendanda of Makwanpur so far.

According to the Army, two more pairs of tunnels will be broken through by the end of the current fiscal year. The total length of the tunnels is 10.979 kilometres. The 70.977 kilometres fast track will start from Khokana of Lalitpur and will connect Kathmandu and Makawanpur to Nijgadh of Bara along the East-West Highway. Under the project, construction of 9 km in Lalitpur, 4.6 km in Kathmandu, 49.7 km in Makwanpur and 7.6 km in Bara will be constructed.

A total of 89 bridges, both small and big, would be constructed under the fast-track. So far, bridges up to 82 meters higher than Dharahara of Kathmandu have been constructed at 13 different places. Spokesperson of Nepal Army and Brigadier General Rajaram Basnet said bridges in 85 places have been awarded the contract for the project and are currently in implementation.

According to the task force, there is a problem related to land acquisition for the remaining four bridges. Foundation of 54 bridges and substructure of bridges in 34 places have been completed. According to the Army, the construction of such bridges of special nature is going on simultaneously, so it has been ensured that the project will be completed on the stipulated time.

Bridges in 15 places would be constructed by the end of the current fiscal year. The total length of the bridges will be more than 12.885 km. Under the project, 11-km road has been blacktopped in sub-base and service lane.

A toll plaza building has been constructed in Nijgadh area of the fast track and the work of interchange is going on. Such interchanges will be in Khokna, Budune and Nijgadh. Of the total 15,416 ropanis required for the project, land acquisition has already been done in other areas except Khokana area. This is the first expressway of the country with the strategic importance of ‘Asian Highway Standard’ to connect the capital with the Tarai in a short distance.

The initial estimated cost of the construction of the fast-track is Rs 213 billion. According to the Army, the project is expected to be completed by mid-April, 2083.

The construction of the fast-track is expected to significantly contribute to the country’s economic development by shortening the journey to the capital and easing transportation. After the completion of the project, it will be possible to reach mid-Terai from Kathmandu within an hour.

It has also encouraged anyone who comes to observe the progress made so far in the construction of the fast track. The fast-track has been seen as a transformative project that would make long-term contribution to the country’s economic development.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sushila Karki inspected the project site on Tuesday and directed the concerned authorities concerned to speed up the project without affecting the religious beliefs and cultural heritages of the locals.

In the initial phase, the start of the project was affected due to delay in approval of the detailed project report (DPR) of the expressway. The Council of Ministers on May 4, 2017 had decided to give the responsibility of construction management of the project to the Nepal Army. The DPR of the project was approved only on August 15, 2019.

It is also expected that the state’s capacity to expand road network would be enhanced following the experience gained in road construction after the construction of international standard fast-track.