Kathmandu-Terai/Madhesh Expressway Project Reaches 50% Completion, Deadline Extended to 2029

Kathmandu. A decade has passed since the construction of the National Pride Project 'Kathmandu-Terai/Madhesh Expressway' (Fast Track), being managed by the Nepali Army, began. The Nepali Army has stated that the overall physical progress of this project has reached 50 percent so far. The work has been completed only halfway in a decade since the project started, and the total expenditure has exceeded 94 billion rupees. As the work is not being completed within the stipulated deadline, the government has extended the project's deadline by three years for the third time, pushing it to March 2086. Significant progress has been achieved in tunnel and bridge construction, with international and domestic construction entrepreneurs engaged in 12 packages. However, the uncertainty regarding the 'zero point' (Khokana-Bungamati section), considered the starting point of the project, has not yet been resolved. The government has stated that it is preparing to resolve the dispute and make Khokana the zero point. Army says – it will be completed within the extended deadline The deadline for this expressway was supposed to be completed by the end of March 2083 according to the previous revised work schedule. As it was not possible to complete the work within that period, the Council of Ministers, in a meeting held on July 20, decided to extend the project's deadline by three years to the end of March 2086. Assistant Chief of Staff and Spokesperson of the Nepali Army, Rajaram Basnet, confirmed that the project's duration has been extended as per the decision of the Council of Ministers. 'The deadline has been extended by 3 years as per the decision of July 20. Now the deadline has been extended until March 2086,' said Spokesperson Basnet. 'The Nepali Army is committed to completing this project within the extended period.' The army states that the construction work was affected in the past due to the COVID-19 pandemic, floods, landslides, and compensation disputes. The project's deadline has been extended twice before. Although the initial target was to complete the work by 2078, the deadline was extended for the first time in October 2077 until November 2081 due to the inability to complete the work. When the work could not be completed within that deadline, the Council of Ministers extended the deadline for the second time on April 5, 2080, until the end of March 2083 to address DPR revisions and other technical delays. So far, only 350 percent of the work has been completed. For this reason, the deadline has been extended for the third time for 3 years as an extension was necessary. The deadline has been extended for 3 years until the end of March 2086, citing land disputes in the Khokana area and slow progress in tunnel construction on July 20, 2083. 10 years passed in 'starting point' uncertainty, Khokana dispute being resolved Although contracts have been awarded and work is progressing rapidly in 12 out of the 13 construction packages of the project, the procurement process for package number 11 (Khokana-Bungamati section) has not even started yet. The decision on where to place the starting point has not been made due to land acquisition, compensation disputes, the issue of preserving the cultural and archaeological heritage of the local Newar community, and traffic management in the Khokana area of Lalitpur. Regarding the starting point, Spokesperson Basnet said, 'No further decisions have been made on that matter. We have proposed various options. The final decision is yet to come.' Regarding this issue, Arjun Jung Thapa, a member of the National Planning Commission and infrastructure expert, states that the problem in Khokana has arisen due to the non-construction of the 'outer ring road' in the initial plan. 'Initially, the plan was to connect Khokana to the outer ring road by considering it as the zero point, but if the outer ring road is not built, there is no point in connecting the fast track in the middle of the field,' Thapa said. 'Now, a tunnel or road with other options of about 6.5 kilometers must be connected from Khokana to the dry port of Chobhar.' He stated that the government is ready to spend an additional two to three billion rupees to preserve the local cultural heritage, and negotiations are underway to resolve this dispute quickly. Work half done, cost increased to 211 billion 10 years have passed since the project began, but its physical progress has only reached 50 percent so far. This project, which started from the fiscal year 2073/074 and was handed over to the Nepali Army by a Council of Ministers decision on May 21, 2074, has achieved half progress so far. According to the progress report published by the army, the overall physical progress of the project has reached 50.02 percent, and the financial progress including mobilization has reached 51.47 percent. According to the National Planning Commission, the initial estimated cost of the project was 116 billion rupees, but due to delays and changes in alignment and structures, the total cost has increased to 211.93 billion rupees according to the revised Detailed Project Report (DPR). So far, a total of 94.22 billion rupees has been spent on the project. What is the progress in tunnel construction? There are 7 tunnels with a total length of 11.2 kilometers under the expressway. Significant progress has been made in tunnel excavation. The left tunnel of Mahadevtar tunnel, with a length of 3,486 meters, has been breakthrough. Similarly, out of the 3,422 meters of the right tunnel, 3,217 meters have been excavated. Only 205 meters are left to be excavated. Both the left tunnel of 1,728 meters and the right tunnel of 1,653 meters of the Dhadre tunnel have been completely breakthrough. The left tunnel of 1,633 meters and the right tunnel of 1,612 meters of the Len Danda tunnel have been breakthrough. Among other tunnels, excavation work is progressing in Devichaur (123 meters out of 1,087 meters), Sisoutar (53 meters out of 520 meters), and Chandram Bhir (780 meters out of 2,250 meters), while portal construction is underway at Mauri Bhir (583 meters). Bridges under construction at 85 out of 89 locations A total of 89 high and long bridges need to be constructed at various locations along the expressway, which passes through hilly and complex terrain. Procurement contracts have been awarded and work is underway for bridges at 85 locations. So far, the foundation of bridges at 57 locations has been completed, while the sub-structure at 38 locations and the super-structure at 16 locations have been completed. The army has stated that the foundation work is being completed at the remaining locations, and the super-structure work is progressing rapidly. The procurement process for the remaining 4 bridges is yet to be initiated. Which construction entrepreneurs are working in 12 packages? Construction entrepreneurs are engaged in the 12 currently operational packages, with a dominance of Chinese companies. China State Construction is responsible for Package 1, Poli Changda for Packages 2 and 4, Camce-SDLCQ JV for Package 5, China First Highway for Package 6, and CRGIC-COVEC JV for Package 10. Nepali and Chinese JVs are working in 5 packages, including Kumar-Roshan-Sichuan JV for Package 3, Sinorung-Ashish-Tundi JV for Package 7, Longjian-Bhimeshwor JV for Package 8 'A', Jiangxi-Hanuman-Baniya JV for Package 9 'A', and XCGGC-Hanuman-Baniya JV for Package 9 'B'. Additionally, KMC Construction Limited from India is working on Package 8 'B'. Delay in construction due to 'middlemen' entry: Preparation to bring a policy of reward and punishment Arjun Jung Thapa, a member of the Planning Commission, also revealed weaknesses in the army's procurement process. According to him, middlemen ('dalals') manipulated the procurement process because the army was new to such large infrastructure construction. 'Middlemen dictated that specific brands of lights or construction materials were required, instead of allowing equivalent alternatives as per the Public Procurement Act, and delays in design approval affected the work,' Thapa said. He stated that this caused cash flow problems for the construction entrepreneurs, leading to liquidated damages (LD). To address this and expedite the project completion, the government is preparing to introduce a 'reward and punishment' policy, Thapa informed. 'A decision is being prepared to be made by the Council of Ministers to waive the fines incurred so far for contractors who have completed more than 50 percent of the work if they complete it within one year, and for those with less than 50 percent progress if they complete it within two years, and to terminate the contract if not completed within the stipulated time,' he said. Experts say that as the fast track is the only long-term lifeline for heavy vehicles, especially when other roads connecting to the capital are frequently blocked by floods and landslides, all bodies must work together to complete the work within the extended deadline of March 2086 at all costs.