Forever stuck

Nepal’s failure to manage its highways has enormous social and economic costs.

The Narayanghat-Butwal road widening project has become yet another example of Nepal’s poor development track record. The upgrade of the 114-km stretch along the East-West Highway started in February 2019, with the revised completion date of July 2024. In seven years, the project is nowhere complete as the work is again stuck, particularly in the difficult 14-kilometer Daunne section. Seven years after the project commencement, the engineers and officials involved are still confused on the design of the road section. Traffic movement on this road, one of the busiest highway sections in the country, was obstructed at least 32 times in under six months between July 17, 2025 and January 4, 2026, according to local police. It is not the first road project in Nepal to progress at a glacial pace. The 88-km Muglin-Pokhara road widening project, which began in 2021, is supposedly near completion. But its deadline has already been extended for the fourth time.