Gandaki. Three roads connecting the tourist capital Pokhara are currently in the process of upgrading. The Pokhara-Muglin road, the Pokhara-Lamjung road, the Talchowk-Begnas section of the Pokhara-Lamjung road, and the Harichowk-Yamdi section of the Mid-Hill Highway are to be blacktopped.
The western (Pokhara-Jamune) section of the Pokhara-Mugnil road project has made 43.34 percent physical progress so far. According to the project engineer, Sowanna Nepal, 29.47 km of the road has been blacktopped so far. Two-way blacktop has been completed at 15.32 km and one-way blacktop has been completed at 14.15 km on the four-lane road.
‘Two and a half km of blacktop remains to be completed in Tanahun, and blacktop is also being completed in the Kaski section,’ he said. ‘The target is to complete the work within the next year.’ Chinese construction company Yanhui Kaiyuan Highway and Bridge Construction had started work on the section since 2078 BS.
Engineer Nepal informed that the road from Pokhara’s Chauthe, International Airport to Amarsingh Chowk, Budhibazar and other areas is being upgraded. He said that construction has also picked up speed in the section from Talchowk to Gagandauda in Pokhara Metropolitan City-27.
After the three-year contract period for the western section in Kaski and Tanahun ended last Bhadra, the construction company is working with an extension. The sections including Tharpu, Turture in Tanahun, and Lower Gaganda in Kaski have been blacktopped on the west side. Engineer Nepal informed that half of the road from Jamune in Tanahun to Seti Bridge in Pokhara will be six lanes and half will be four lanes.
He said that the construction of bridges on Biyajpur River and Seti River is going on simultaneously. The project office has stated that nine of the 12 road bridges in the 38.88 km long western section are in the final stages of construction.
A Chinese construction company has taken over the responsibility of constructing the western section at a cost of Rs 7.40 billion 4.6 million. The expansion and upgrading work of the 81 km long Pokhara-Muglin road is being carried out with the loan assistance of the Asian Development Bank.
The construction company China Communication Construction had also started work on the eastern section of the total 41.45 km long since Baisakh 2078 BS. The project office has stated that the road upgrading and blacktop work in the eastern section has reached the final stage.
Infrastructure preparation work is underway for the blacktop of the four-lane road connecting Pokhara-27 Talchowk to 31 Begnas along the road connecting Lamjung via Rupa Rural Municipality. The construction of the road, which has been under construction since Chaitra 2079 BS, is being built with a concessional loan from the World Bank.
Nabin Gautam, engineer of the road branch of Pokhara Metropolitan City, said that the physical progress of the 3.28 km road has reached 45 percent so far. The construction company ‘Swachhanda-Sapna-Worldwide JB’ finally started the road construction work a year after the contract agreement was signed.
Despite the planned cost of Rs 1.49 billion, the contract agreement with the construction company was signed for Rs 754.8 million excluding VAT, said Engineer Gautam. He said that a model road with foot tracks, cycle lanes and parking will be built.
The Metropolitan Municipality has stated that infrastructure including gardens and street lights will be built along the road. Three bridges are under construction on the road. Engineer Gautam said that road expansion, culverts, drains and walls are being constructed.
Engineer Nepal said that the target is to blacktop the road by Ashar. Infrastructure preparation work is underway for blacktopping the Harichowk-Yamdi section of the Mid-Hill Highway, a national pride project connected to Pokhara, which is also the capital of Gandaki Province.
According to the Mountain Highway Project Office, work has been done to set up a ‘plant’ for blacktopping. Public complaints had increased due to the lack of blacktopping on the approximately 2,200-meter stretch of road.
It is said that the construction of drains, walls and culverts along with the expansion of the road to four lanes has been completed. Kathmandu’s Motidan Construction Services Pvt. Ltd. took over the construction of the road in Shrawan 2079 BS, with a completion date of two years.
The road could not be constructed on time due to the construction company’s tardiness. Even after the construction of a four-lane road on both sides, the section was not constructed on time, making the journey on the highway agonizing.
It is said that the construction of the road was also delayed due to problems such as electricity poles, water supply management, and payment problems. The construction company had increased the pace of work after the project office warned of breaking the contract. Since three major roads are under construction at the same time, the transport service of the tourist capital Pokhara has become somewhat inconvenient.
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