सिंहदरबार संवाददाता
Belbari (Morang). The construction of the ‘Asian Highway’, which is being carried out with the main objective of connecting Asian countries through a road network, has started gaining momentum.
12 percent of the work has been completed in one year since the construction agreement was signed. Although it was said that 120 kilometers of road from Kakarbhitta to Laukahi would be upgraded under Asian Highway No. 2, only 95.76 km of road is currently being worked on under contract. The work is being divided into two parts, the eastern section and the western section.
The 45 km road from Kankarbhitta to Sitapur will be looked after by the office in Damak, and the road from Sitapur to Itahari West Pachrukhi will be looked after by the Itahari office. According to both offices, 12 percent of the work has been completed in this one year. Sunil Babu Pant, head of the Damak office of the project, said that the target is to blacktop at least 20 kilometers of roads within this fiscal year. Similarly, Jagat Prajapati, head of the Itahari office of the project’s western section, also said that the target is to complete the first phase of blacktop of at least 10 kilometers of roads within this fiscal year.
The ‘Asian Highway’ connects Nepal to Bangladesh via India in just 27 kilometers, which holds the potential for international trade, said Rajendra Raut, president of the Koshi Province of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry. He says that once the road is operational, imports and exports will become cheaper and rural businesses will be connected to the international market.
The Asian Highway will start from Bangkok in Thailand and will reach Karachi in Pakistan via Myanmar, Bangladesh, India, Kakadbhitta in Nepal via the East-West Highway via Delhi in India. The road construction work has started on Magh 19 with the financial support of the Asian Development Bank with a plan to complete the construction in three years. The construction of this project is estimated to cost 300 million US dollars. A total of 48 bridges, both small and large, and 10 overpasses will be built within the contracted 95.76 km road area.
21 bridges are being constructed in the eastern section, and 92 out of 140 box culverts are being constructed, said Pant, the head of the eastern section of the project. Prajapati, the project chief of the western section, said that the foundation work of the 3 big bridges Ratuwa, Bakraha and Lohandra in the western section has been completed. He said that out of 169 box culverts, 47 have been constructed and the rest are under construction.
According to him, 35 percent of the earth filling work has been completed. So far, more physical progress has been made in the forest area than in the urban area. Overpasses will be built in Charali, Birtamod, Charpane in Jhapa, Balia in Morang and Itahari Chowk East, Itahari Chowk and Itahari Chowk West in Sunsari. Prajapati said that electricity poles are obstructing the road construction, but coordination is being done with the Electricity Authority for its early management.
The road to be constructed in three categories has been divided into market areas, forest areas and rural areas. The road will be 50 meters wide in the market area, 24 meters in the forest area and 33 meters in the rural area. The construction will include bicycle lanes, footpaths and drains in the urban area. ‘Signature’ bridges will be constructed at six locations. Chinese companies are constructing the road with Nepal’s Kalika and Tungi Construction.
प्रतिक्रिया दिनुहोस्