Kathmandu. Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Physical Infrastructure and Transport, and Urban Development Kul Man Ghising has monitored Suryabinayak-Dhulikhel road section.

He inquired about the progress of the road construction.

During the inspection, the Minister held discussions with secretaries of the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, Director General of Department of Roads, project chiefs and contractors. On the occasion, Minister Ghising directed the authorities concerned to immediately repair potholes and ease the movement of vehicular traffic, keeping in mind the festivals.

He urged the project to immediately decide on the pending issues, to fully mobilize the construction work by adding human resources and equipment and to complete the road expansion within the current fiscal year.

Work is underway to expand the 15.8 kilometers road from Suryabinayak to Dhulikhel to six lanes. Of this, 39 per cent physical progress has been made on the 8.3 km section from Suryabinayak to Sanga and 51 per cent on the 7.5 km section from Sanga to Dhulikhel. The overall physical progress of the project is 45 percent.

About 80 percent of the construction of the retaining wall and drainage has been completed and about one kilometer of the road has been blacktopped.

The construction work of the project has been affected due to dispute over road boundaries, problem of removing houses and huts, and lack of budget. He said that necessary initiatives will be taken to prevent the lack of budget. Director General Bijay Jaisi said that only Rs 500 million has been allocated for the project out of the budget of Rs 3 billion in the current fiscal year.