Morang. The blacktopping of the Kakarvitta-Laukahi road section under the ‘Asian Highway’ has been delayed due to lack of bitumen.

Jagat Prajapati, chief of the Itahari Office of the Western Division of the project, said that the blacktopping was delayed due to lack of quality and lack of bitumen in the project.

According to him, the price of bitumin in India was Rs 100 to Rs 110 per liter till two months ago. Nepal Bitumen and Barrel Industry has said that there is no shortage of bitumen but the price has increased unexpectedly.

According to Prajapati, around 40 percent of the construction work has been completed even after 30 months of the beginning of the construction. According to him, despite the shortage of bitumen, work related to concrete is going on at a rapid pace. According to him, the construction of overpass, underpass, base, subway, drain and other structures is going on at a rapid pace.

According to Prajapati, only 95.76 kilometers of the road west from Kakarvitta under the Asian Highway No. 2 has been awarded the contract. “The work is being carried out by dividing the eastern and western sections into two parts. The construction work will be expedited if the availability of construction materials is eased,” he said.

Prajapati said that if the construction of the Asian Highway is completed, it would start from Bangkok of Thailand, reach Myanmar, Bangladesh, India and Kakarvitta of Nepal and reach Karachi of Pakistan via Delhi of India.

With the financial assistance of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the construction of the road began on February 3, 2080 with a plan to complete the project in three years.