Kathmandu. The Nagdhunga-Sisnekhola tunnel way is to be formally inaugurated on Monday.

The concessional loan from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and joint investment of the government is estimated to be around Rs 19 billion.

The length of the tunnel is 2.68 kilometers.

The total length of the tunnel is about 5.5 kilometers, including evacuation tunnel and cross-passages.

Minister for Infrastructure Development Sunil Lamsal and JICA Chairman will jointly inaugurate the project. In the first phase, only ambulances, fire engines and emergency vehicles of security agencies would be allowed to enter the tunnel.

However, motorbikes and vehicles carrying inflammable and explosives are not allowed to ply on the tunnel.

The tunnel way, which is believed to ease the traffic by avoiding the risk of landslides and steep climb along the Nagdhunga, is considered a big achievement in the field of road infrastructure of Nepal. In the initial phase, only ambulances, fire engines and emergency vehicles of security agencies will be allowed to enter.

The Japanese construction company ‘Hajma Ando Corporation’ had started the construction of the project in 2076 BS.