Nepal Army changes Express Way alignment to preserve historic Khokana

Nepal Army has changed the alignment of Express Way to preserve the historic Khokana settlement.
Holding a press conference at its headquarters, the Nepal Army informed that the Nepali Army (NA) has changed the entry point of 72.5-km-long Kathmandu-Tarai Express Way in two places – Khokana area, and Mahadevtar-Lendanda according to the recently-approved DPR – to preserve Sikali Temple in Khokana and Kodesh area which hold cultural and historical significance.
Earlier, locals from Khokana had staged a series of a protest demanding preservation of the antique settlement, and the temple.
“As per the demand of locals of Khokana and Bungmati, we have changed the alignment of Express Way,” said spokesperson for Nepali Army Brigadier General Bigyan Dev Pandey.
Pandey further said the Army had consulted the Department of Archaeology to change the entry point of the Express Way to address the concerns of the locals.
However, the change in alignment has increased the estimated cost of the project though the distance has decreased. “The estimated cost of the Kathmandu-Nijgadh Express way has been reestimated at Rs 175.19 billion – which is Rs 63.19 billion more than the earlier estimate of Rs 112 billion – though the length has been reduced by 3.7-km to 72.5-km from its preliminary estimate of 76.2-km due to change in alignment,” the Pandey said, adding that Express Way has now added extra tunnels along Mahadevtari-Lendanda section following the change in alignment.
Ealier, the DPR by the Indian firm Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Transportation Networks (IL&FS) had estimated the construction cost at Rs 133.70 billion ($1.12 billion at the current exchange rate), if it were to be built with a soft loan. The cost would have increased, if it was a commercial loan.
Likewise, the Nepal Army had proposed Rs 213 billion estimation to the Cabinet but the widespread criticism has made the Cabinet to reduce the cost to Rs 175.19 billion. However, the project chief of Express Way Brigadier General Sarad Lal Shrestha said that South Korean consultant firm Soosung Engineering and Consultancy Co had estimated the cost of the project based on government set rate and international standards. The Express Way will be constructed based on ‘Asian Highway Class I’ standards, which means it will have four lanes and the construction material used for the pavement will be asphalt or cement concrete, Shrestha informed.
The Express Way that will extend from Khokana in Lalitpur to Nijgadh in Bara with a width of 25 meters in the hilly region and 27 in the plains is set to be completed within next three-and-a-half years. Earlier, the Nepal Army had aimed to complete Nepal’s first Express Way within two years of initiating the project.
“We plan to begin construction of tunnels and bridges by September-end,” Pandey said, adding the process to award tenders to build bridges and tunnels is in final stage. “The NA will build 87 special and normal bridges of the project with total length of 10.59-km, and three tunnels measuring altogether 6.42-km in Mahadev Danda, Dhendra Danda and Len Danda.”
Likewise, there will be three interchange and toll plazas in Khokana of Lalitpur, Budhune of Makawanpur and Nijgadh of Bara district, apart from 12 passenger underpasses, five vehicle underpasses, one passenger overpass, four vehicle overpasses and 141 box/pipe culverts.
According to the Nepal Army, some 151,000 trees will be cut down during the Express way construction.
The DPR of the one of the national pride projects, prepared and submitted by a South Korean firm Soosung Engineering and Consulting Company was approved by the cabinet meeting of August 19.
Of the total length, four km of the Express Way will lie in Kathmandu district, 7.9-km in Lalitpur, 53-km in Makawanpur and rest 7.6-km in Bara.
Due to delay in approval of the DPR by the Cabinet, the government has extended the deadline for Kathmandu-Tarai Express Way by more than two years, pushing the completion date to February 2024.
When the national pride project was handed over to the Nepal Army in August 2017, the government had set August 2021 deadline. But even two years since the start of the construction, the national defence force has hardly completed eight per cent of the work. The Army has already spent Rs 14 billion in the last two years. The government has allocated Rs15 billion in the current fiscal year for the four-lane national pride project.
The Kathmandu-Tarai Express Way was first conceptualised in the mid-1990s. But it failed to take off for almost a decade and a half. The government revived the project in 2013 and two years later, the Indian consortium won the bid for the project – in February 2015 – but in October the Supreme Court ordered a halt to the preparations to award the project to the Indian developer IL&FS.

DPR of Kathmandu-Tarai-Madhes Expressway by February 2

The detail project report (DPR) of Kathmandu-Tarai-Madhes Expressway will be completed by February 2, 2019. Nepal Army (NA) and South Korean company Soosung Engineering today signed an agreement on the preparation of DPR of the national pride project Kathmandu-Tarai- Madhes Expressway.
Project Chief and Major General of Nepal Army Yogendra Bahadur Khand and Chairman of the Korean company Keehyun Hwang signed the agreement at the Army Headquarters to complete the DPR.
According to the agreement, the DPR should be completed within 1105 days beginning from October 21 in a total cost of Rs 101 million. The Korean company was selected for the DPR job – out of a total of 16 consulting firms that had applied – as the earlier DPR prepared by the Indian company Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IF&FS) has been alleged for its high price. The Indian firm IL&FS has asked minimum of Rs 600 million for the DPR of Kathmandu-Tarai-Madhesh Expressway.
The Cabinet had handed over the Kathmandu-Tarai-Madhesh Expressway to the Nepal Army last year to complete the project within 5 years.
After failing to purchase the DPR prepared by an IL&FS, the Nepal Army had called an Expression of Interest within April 12, which was extended twice until April 28 due to technical reasons.
A total of 16 firms, including a domestic one, had shown interest to prepare the DPR of the national pride project. One year into construction, the Nepal Army is carrying out preliminary works without a DPR of the expressway that is expected to bring the Capital and Nijgadh in Bara within an hour’s drive.
The Army, which has begun construction of the 76-km road is working on the basis of a feasibility study conducted by the Asian Development Bank in 2008. The Army is clearing trees and acquiring land in the project area.

Nepal Army might buy DPR of expressway from Indian consortium

The Nepal Army – which has been authorised to construct the Kathmandu-Tarai expressway by the government – might buy the Detailed Project Report (DPR) from an Indian consortium to expedite the construction of the strategic road.
As the Indian consortium including Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL&FS) Transportation Networks, IL&FS Engineering and Construction and Suryavir Infrastructure Construction has already prepared the DPR of the 76-km roadway, the Army has thought of using it to save the time and money to redo the DPR.
The Technical Department of the Nepal Army has started the process of hiring consultants to determine, if the DPR prepared by the Indian consortium is suitable for adaptation. The team will go through the report and advise the division whether it could be used.
Though the Army has said that a formal decision is yet to be made, it has no option than to buy the DPR of the expressway with the Indian company to start the construction immediately after the monsoon.
But the Indian consortium has asked the government to pay Rs 600 million for the DPR as it could not get the contract to construct the expressway.
According to the contract between the Indian consortium and the government, the government should compensate the Indian consortium for the DPR, if government scraps the agreement. "If the Army adopts the DPR, it will pay the compensation," according to the Army source.
If the Army decides not to purchase the DPR, it will have to prepare a new one, which will take quite some time delaying construction of the express way that is expected to reduce travel time – between Kathmanu and Nijgad in the south to less than an hour – and petroleum consumption also.
 The DPR had proposed building a four-lane expressway of Asian Class-1 Standard. The expressway should be 23-metre wide in the hills and 25-metre wide in the plains, it explains, adding that the expressway will also have around 100 bridges, including 35 smaller ones, and two tunnels that are 11.3-metre wide and 5.5-metre tall.
Initially – in February 2015 – the government had assigned IL&FS-led consortium to build the expressway as it was shortlisted as the potential builder of the expressway.
The consortium had agreed not to charge the cost of the DPR, if it was allowed to construct the project. It had submitted the report to the Sushil Koirala-led government in June 2015.
But the Koirala-led government did not award the contract to the Indian consortium due to congroversy on annual minimum revenue guarantee of up to Rs 15 billion a year, if the  road traffic failed to generate adequate profit.
After increased controversy, the government scrapped all the agreements with the Indian firm.
Later a high level committee formed under National Planning Commission (NPC) vice chair Dr Min Bahadur Shrestha in February suggested the government construct the expressway using its own resources but could adopt the DPR prepared by the Indian company to save time and money.
However, the government, in May, decided to hand over the project to the Nepal Army despite wide criticisism also for not involving the private sector, and involving the Army in to the business. Earlier when the Army had opened the track of the expressway, it was accused of embezzling funds.