Baglung. Around 80 per cent of physical works have been completed along the Gaindakot-Ramdi-Maldhunga section of Kaligandaki corridor, a project of national pride. Out of 293 kilometres of the corridor road, 234 kilometres have been blacktopped, 36 bridges have been constructed and six bridges have been constructed in the last 16 years of the project’s start.

According to the Gaindakot-Ramdi-Maldhunga Road Project Palpa, 80 per cent physical progress and 70 per cent financial progress has been achieved in the section which spans Baglung, Gulmi, Palpa, Nawalpur and the Mirmi-Setibeni-Falebas-Armadi-Kusma section of the Mirmi-Setibeni-Phalebasi-Armadi-Kusma section of the road in Syangja and Parbat districts. According to Utsav Basyal, engineer of the corridor project, Rs 14.07 billion has been spent on the opening, upgrading, widening, blacktopping and construction of bridges in the first 16 years of the project.

The project was initiated in fiscal year 2066÷67 and is targeted to be completed by 2083÷84. So far, 70 percent of the budget has been spent on the 293-km section estimated to cost Rs 20 billion. According to engineer Basyal, 145 kilometers of road has been completed so far and handed over to the Road Division Office. According to him, contract management for landslide, contract management for 0.42-km road and construction of 17 bridges are yet to be done on this stretch.

The Gaindakot-Ramdi-Maldhunga corridor stretches over four districts while the Kaligandaki Highway stretches over two districts including the Mirmi-Setibeni-Falebas-Armadi-Kusma road. The corridor covers 77.97 km in Nawalpur, 86.27 km in Palpa, 41.06 km in Gulmi, 34.70 km in Baglung, 10 km in Syangja and 43 km in Parbat.