The cabinet has approved detailed project report (DPR) of the much talked Kathmandu-Tarai express way.
According to the spokesperson of Nepali Army Brigadier General Bigyan Dev Pandey, the cabinet meeting held on Monday has approved the DPR of the project. “We plan to start construction of tunnels and bridges by September-end,” he said, adding that Nepal Army aims at completing the country’s first express way project within two years. “The process of short-listing contractors for construction of bridges is in the final phase, work related to the detailed design has already been completed and NA is preparing necessary documents to call tender for construction of tunnels.”
According to Pandey, the project will be constructed based on ‘Asian Highway Class I’ standards. “The highway will have four or more lanes and the construction material used for the pavement will be asphalt or cement concrete,” he added.
A South Korean firm – Soosung Engineering and Consulting Company on February 4 – had submitted the DPR of the project to Nepali Army. The Ministry of Defence forwarded it to the cabinet on March 16.
The DPR has, though reduced the length of the express way by 3.7 kilometres to 72.5 km due to change in alignment of the route in Khokana, has estimated construction cost at Rs 175.19 billion, which is Rs 63.19 billion more than the earlier estimate of Rs 112 billion. “The consultant company has determined the estimated cost of the project based on the government fixed rate and international standards,” Pandey explained.
Before the revision in length, NA had said it would construct 17 km on its own, hire Nepali contractors for 37 km of the stretch and assign foreign contractors to construct the remaining 22.2 km section, which includes tunnels and bridges. “Though only a width of 25 metres of the express way section will be metalled, the Nepal Army has cleared a breadth of 30 metres,” he sid, adding that 3.9 km of the express way – of the total length – will lie in Kathmandu district, 6.9 km in Lalitpur, 55.7 km in Makawanpur and 6 km in Bara. “Meanwhile, NA has already signed contract with 32 local contractors for different sections of the project but some works were halted in the absence of the final DPR.”
The Nepal Army will construct three tunnels – one in Mahadev Danda of Lalitpur district and one each in Dhandre Danda and Len Danda of Makawanpur district – and the total length of the tunnels will be 4.41 km. There will be 87 small and big bridges along the express way according to the approved DPR that has changed the alignment to preserve the Sikali temple and other historic places around Khokana and Bungamati areas, also due to protest from the locals.
The government has assigned Nepal Army a full responsibility of carrying out the express way project, segregating it into three segments.
According to the spokesperson of Nepali Army Brigadier General Bigyan Dev Pandey, the cabinet meeting held on Monday has approved the DPR of the project. “We plan to start construction of tunnels and bridges by September-end,” he said, adding that Nepal Army aims at completing the country’s first express way project within two years. “The process of short-listing contractors for construction of bridges is in the final phase, work related to the detailed design has already been completed and NA is preparing necessary documents to call tender for construction of tunnels.”
According to Pandey, the project will be constructed based on ‘Asian Highway Class I’ standards. “The highway will have four or more lanes and the construction material used for the pavement will be asphalt or cement concrete,” he added.
A South Korean firm – Soosung Engineering and Consulting Company on February 4 – had submitted the DPR of the project to Nepali Army. The Ministry of Defence forwarded it to the cabinet on March 16.
The DPR has, though reduced the length of the express way by 3.7 kilometres to 72.5 km due to change in alignment of the route in Khokana, has estimated construction cost at Rs 175.19 billion, which is Rs 63.19 billion more than the earlier estimate of Rs 112 billion. “The consultant company has determined the estimated cost of the project based on the government fixed rate and international standards,” Pandey explained.
Before the revision in length, NA had said it would construct 17 km on its own, hire Nepali contractors for 37 km of the stretch and assign foreign contractors to construct the remaining 22.2 km section, which includes tunnels and bridges. “Though only a width of 25 metres of the express way section will be metalled, the Nepal Army has cleared a breadth of 30 metres,” he sid, adding that 3.9 km of the express way – of the total length – will lie in Kathmandu district, 6.9 km in Lalitpur, 55.7 km in Makawanpur and 6 km in Bara. “Meanwhile, NA has already signed contract with 32 local contractors for different sections of the project but some works were halted in the absence of the final DPR.”
The Nepal Army will construct three tunnels – one in Mahadev Danda of Lalitpur district and one each in Dhandre Danda and Len Danda of Makawanpur district – and the total length of the tunnels will be 4.41 km. There will be 87 small and big bridges along the express way according to the approved DPR that has changed the alignment to preserve the Sikali temple and other historic places around Khokana and Bungamati areas, also due to protest from the locals.
The government has assigned Nepal Army a full responsibility of carrying out the express way project, segregating it into three segments.
No comments:
Post a Comment