Japan government has officially handed over the Sindhuli Road project – popularly known as BP Highway – to Nepal after completing the reconstruction of the road segment, which was damaged by the devastating earthquake of April 25, 2015. The road project is supported by JICA.
Japan handed over the rebuilt infrastructure to the government through a virtual inauguration ceremony organised at the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, according to the ministry. Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Basant Kumar Nemwang, on the occasion, said since long Japan has been providing its value assistance to Nepal mainly in the areas like sanitation, education, peace establishment and agriculture.
Likewise, Japanese ambassador to Nepal Masamichi Saigo said that Japan will be supporting Nepal in achieving development goals as both the countries have been in a friendly relationship. “I am really proud of this achievement, as we were able to complete the project despite the ongoing pandemic and that this road will provide functional benefits to locals and other travelers due to improved accessibility leading to enhanced socio-economic benefits,” he added.
The programme witnessed officers from MoPIT, Department of Roads (DoR), JICA Nepal Office, the consultant Nippon Koei and the contractor Hazama Ando, apart from the minister and the Japanese envoy.
During the ceremony chief representative of JICA Nepal Yumiko Asakuma expressed her belief that, with the completion of the project, the overall goal to secure sustainable and safe traffic along Sindhuli Road will be realised.
The Sindhuli Road is one of the most important roads in Nepal that links Kathmandu City, the capital of the country, with Eastern Terai Plain. The construction of the Sindhuli Road, with a total length of 160-km, started with the Japanese grant aid in the 1996 and was completed in March 2015.
The Sindhuli Road is a milestone project of JICA’s cooperation to Nepal as it is not only the biggest Japanese Grant Aid, but also a technical challenging road encompassing diverse geographic condition including mountains and river valleys.
But the road was damaged in more than 24 places by a major earthquake on April 25, 2015 as well as a major aftershock on May 12, 2015 in Nepal. Among the damaged portions, 5 critical sites, which needed rehabilitation were relevant for Japanese support due to the large scale damage as well as technological challenges, according to a press note issued by the JICA. “Upon request from the Nepal, Japan provided grant aid to rehabilitate the critical damaged portion of the Sindhuli Road based on the Exchange of Note (EoN) between Nepal and Japan governments and Grant Agreement (GA) between Nepal and JICA amounting JPY 1,047 million, which was signed on October 25, 2018.
Rehabilitation of the Sindhuli road will facilitate smooth traffic flow, which will not only result in having a reliable link between Kathmandu and the Eastern Terai but also cater the need of the public by creating better mobility, easier accessibility to health facilities and education, better economic socio-cultural activities, the press note reads, adding that one of the major outcome of the rehabilitation project is the transfer of advanced and effective technology to the Nepali counterparts and engineers, mainly for the slope stabilisation of the mountainous roads.
Expressing his appreciation, Nemwang further added that the modern technological methods used for constructing the roads with the concept of ‘Build Back better’ would be a major learning experience for all its stakeholders reaping sustainable benefits.
Japan completed the reconstruction work in around 18 months from the date of commencement, the press note adds.
Japan started the BP Highway – that offers one of the shortest land routes connecting the capital to eastern Nepal – construction of the 160-km long road stretch in 1996 and completed it in March 2015. But the highway was badly damaged -- due to devastating earthquake – at five locations of the stretch in just two months after it was handed over to Nepal. After the devastating earthquake damaged the highway, Japanese contractor Hazama Ando Corporation started the reconstruction work on July 3, 2019.
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