Kathmandu. Upgradation of Dhulikhel-Khawa road section of Kavrepalanchowk along the Araniko Highway has been expedited. The renovation work has been expedited after an agreement was signed with a new construction company last November for the expansion work, which was stalled for a long time due to the negligence of the contractors.

According to the Division Road Office, Bhaktapur, the contract was signed with C-NA A-1 Kali JV for Rs 315.6 million excluding VAT. As per the agreement, the blacktopping will be completed in the first phase by mid-April and the remaining works will be completed gradually within the stipulated time, said Senior Divisional Engineer Suman Yogesh. He said that the reconstruction work has been expedited by cutting work in different places.

“Small structures and support walls are being constructed with the aim of completing the blacktopping by mid-April,” Yogesh said. He said that the surface work on the road has not been done due to cold weather and the plan is to complete the blacktopping work by mid-April after completing the surface work once the cold subsides. After the completion of the blacktopping work, the slope maintenance of the road and other minor works will be done. The road will be seven metres wide. New technology will be used to manage landslides on the road.

Meanwhile, the highway has been difficult for the past three years due to the delay in the construction work. The office had called for tender again in August last year, five months after scrapping the old contract. Yogesh said that the new construction company is hopeful that the four-kilometer road section will be completed on time. The office had terminated the contract with the Gauri-Parbati Construction Service Company, citing that the road from Dhulikhel to Khawa had not been completed in the stipulated time.

After 11 months of the expiry of the agreement, the office has terminated the contract with the Gauri-Parbati Construction Service on February 29 last year. The road expansion project was awarded to Gauri and Parbati on June 5, 2022 at a cost of Rs 201.9 million, 46 thousand 501 with a target to complete the project within 22 months i.e. Chaitra 19, 2080 BS.

Before this, only the hill cutting work from Dhulikhel Bus Park to the zipline had been done, drainage and drain wall had been installed in some places. The contractor company has not completed even 25 percent of the construction work even after 11 months of the deadline.

The highway, which is also the main road leading to Tatopani of Sindhupalchowk and neighbouring districts including Dolakha and Ramechhap through the Araniko Highway, has compelled the passengers to travel through dust, mud, traffic jam and accidents.

According to the office, for the first time in Nepal, a base of 20 centimeters thick cement will be laid over gravel and two phases of blacktopping DBM and Asphal will be blacktopped. Hundreds of passengers have been injured in road accidents that have been demolished for reconstruction due to lack of timely completion of road construction work.