Butwal-Gorusinghe road hits 28 % completion

By Our Correspondent

Butwal, July 21: Twenty-eight per cent of the construction work on the Butwal-Gorusinghe Road Project has been completed in one year and eight months since the project began.

Construction commenced on October 20, 2024, with the project scheduled for completion by October 19, 2027. However, construction has recently been affected by the monsoon.

According to the Butwal Project Office, 66 of the 166 culverts planned under the project have been completed. Of the 30 bridges to be constructed, work on five has reached the final stage.

The project office said that shortages of soil and riverbed materials during the rainy season, along with a lack of skilled technicians and labourers, have posed construction challenges.

As 16 months remain before the project deadline, the office expressed confidence that the road would be completed within the stipulated timeframe, provided no further unforeseen delays occur.

Project chief Kushalata Neupane said that construction had slowed due to shortages of riverbed materials and soil, as well as a lack of workers during festive seasons such as Dashain and Tihar.  

She added that work is expected to accelerate once the monsoon ends. The project is being executed by the Chinese contractor Shaanxi Construction Engineering Group Corporation in a joint venture with Ashish Nirman Sewa JV of Chitwan at a contract value of Rs. 13.56 billion.

The 50-kilometre road has been divided into two packages. Lot-1 covers the 25-kilometre stretch from Butwal to Saljhandi, while Lot-2 extends a further 25 kilometres from Saljhandi to Gorusinghe in Kapilvastu.

The estimated cost of Lot-1 is Rs. 7.89 billion, while Lot-2 is valued at Rs. 5.66 billion.

The project office said it had planned to asphalt several kilometres of road in the Kapilvastu section this year, but shortages of construction materials have affected progress.

Once completed, the road will have a width of 50 metres in urban areas, 37.4 metres in semi-urban areas and 24 metres through forest sections. 

To improve safety and modernise the corridor, the project includes the construction of flyovers, underpasses, overhead pedestrian bridges and wildlife crossings.

Around 7,000 trees were felled during the road expansion.

Neupane said the project was being implemented in a way that avoids the prolonged disruption experienced during the Butwal-Narayangadh road expansion. 

Rather than digging the existing roadway first, roadside structures are being constructed before the road surface is removed.

To make the road more wildlife-friendly, the project includes the construction of 18 wildlife underpasses, six flyovers, 12 pedestrian underpasses and 11 overhead pedestrian bridges.