Butwal-Bethari road remains incomplete after a decade

By Chhabilal Pandey, Butwal, July 23: Nearly a decade after construction began, the 21-kilometre road expansion project linking Belbas in Butwal with Bethari in Mayadevi Rural Municipality remains unfinished.

The project has been mired in uncertainty after the contractor failed to complete the work within the agreed deadline. Budget shortages, the expiry of the contract period and legal complications have further delayed its completion.

The project was divided into two construction packages. While the southern section has been completed, around 8.5 kilometres of the northern section remains unfinished.

As a result, commuters and locals travelling daily along the key road connecting Butwal and Lumbini have continued to face difficulties for years. The Bajraguru-Kanchharam JV had been contracted to complete the project by mid-July 2019, but around 2.5 kilometres of the road is yet to be blacktopped. 

Construction has stalled in several stretches of between 300 and 500 metres, while roadside drains, landscaping and other structural works also remain incomplete.

With little progress over a prolonged period, the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure of the Lumbini province government recently initiated the process of terminating the contract. The ministry sought the opinion of the Provincial Transport Infrastructure Directorate on the possible legal and financial implications of cancelling the agreement.

Director of the Provincial Transport Infrastructure Directorate, Anil Marasini, said a study was under way to assess the potential benefits and risks of terminating the contract, as well as possible alternatives. 

According to him, a final decision will be taken only after reviewing the legal, financial and technical aspects.

However, following the federal government’s recent amendment to the Public Procurement Regulations, which allows abandoned projects with more than 50 per cent physical progress to be completed by the existing contractor as a final opportunity, the provincial government has begun discussions on adopting the same approach.

Chief of the Road Infrastructure Development Office, Rupandehi, Lalu Giri, said terminating the contract was not necessarily the only option.

“Following the amendment to the regulations, discussions are under way on giving the existing contractor one final opportunity to complete the project,” he said.

According to Giri, the project is currently without a budget. It received only Rs. 3 million in the fiscal year 2022/23 and Rs. 2 million in 2023/24, with no funding allocated thereafter. 

As the contract was not extended beyond mid-April 2025, construction has come to a complete halt.

The project was launched in 2016 under the federal government’s Road Division Office. Responsibility was later transferred to the provincial government and subsequently to the Road Infrastructure Development Office, Rupandehi.

Frustrated by the prolonged delay, locals formed a Road Struggle Committee two years ago. The committee has repeatedly drawn the attention of the District Administration Office, the Office of the Chief Minister and Council of Ministers, and other concerned authorities.

Committee coordinator Bijaya Dhakal said the decade-long delay had severely affected the daily lives of locals.