Kathmandu. The overall progress of the road expansion from Suryabinayak of Bhaktapur to Dhulikhel of Kavrepalanchowk has reached 50 percent. Work is underway to expand the 15.8-km Suryabinayak-Dhulikhel section of the Araniko Highway into six lanes.

The 8.3 kilometres section from Suryabinayak to Sanga has achieved 45 per cent progress. The 7.5 kilometres road expansion from Sanga to Dhulikhel has made 55 per cent progress. Currently, the construction of both packages is going on at a rapid pace.

On the occasion, Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Physical Infrastructure and Transport, and Urban Development Kulman Ghising inspected Suryabinayak-Dhulikhel road expansion and took stock of the progress of the road. Minister Ghising, after holding discussion with Director General of Department of Roads, project chief and contractors regarding construction progress and problems, requested them to expedite the construction work as it was the right time to carry out works.

He urged the project authorities to immediately decide on the pending issues if any, if any, and to carry out works in order to complete the road expansion by coming July by adding more human resources and equipment and being fully mobilized for the construction. He said that there would be no budget crunch for the construction of the project as the commitment has already been made from the Ministry of Finance.

The construction work of the project was affected due to road boundary dispute, problem of removing houses and huts, and lack of budget. The government has allocated Rs 700 million for the project in the current fiscal year. The project has asked for an additional budget of Rs 4 billion.

On the occasion, Minister Ghising urged the mayor of Banepa Municipality to extend necessary support and facilitation to resolve the problem seen in Banepa bazaar area.

The progress of the construction of support wall and drain has been 95 percent. Around 2 kilometers of the Sanga-Dhulikhel road has been blacktopped.