Kathmandu. The Narayangadh-Butwal road widening project has achieved 76 per cent physical progress. The Narayangadh-Butwal road widening project is being completed within the deadline extended for the fourth time.

The deadline that was last extended expires in July 2083. The project is scheduled to be completed by that time. The project is currently underway in most of the areas that are yet to be worked in the eastern section. The blacktopping of Jaya Shree Bridge at Gaindakot, Chormara Bazaar Bridge, Arun Khola Bridge and Dumkibas remains to be blacktopped. Blacktopping work has been completed in other areas.

Work is underway in the long bridge as only Chormara and Arunkhola are yet to come into operation. The blacktopping of the service lane is also underway in the market area where the blacktopping has been completed. Apart from this, works are being carried out to clear the dividers in the middle of the road and to blacktop more in the area which was thinner than the earlier.

In the eastern section, work has been started by giving priority to the Daunne area. The culvert construction is in the final stage in the Daunne area. The construction of the culvert and the construction of the road is underway with the aim of completing the work by mid-April. China State Construction Corporation had initiated the construction of the Narayangadh-Butwal road expansion project with a target to complete it on August 7, 2079. The 113-km Narayangadh-Butwal road section was divided into two sections.

The deadline was extended for the second time till July 21, 2081 as the work could not be completed within the stipulated time. The deadline was extended for the third time in July 2082 after the completion of the work during this period. Now, the deadline has been extended for the fourth time.

The total cost of the road expansion project, which is being carried out with the loan assistance of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), is Rs 16.99 billion in both sections. Of the total 113 kilometres of the road, 70 kilometres will be four lanes and 29 kilometres will have four lanes with service lanes of 6÷ metres on either side. A three-lane road will be constructed in a fourteen-kilometer stretch of Daun.