Works on the construction of five highways which the Department of Roads had initiated three years back have reached the final stages of completion. The Department had placed the construction of the national highways considered the main pillars of the socio-economic development of the country in the first priority.
The 72-kilometre Gokuleshwar-Darchula road is being black-topped which is expected to complete ahead of the Nepali New Year in mid-April. Similarly, the 47-kilometre Khodpe-Bajhang-Kalangagadh-Chainpur section will be black-topped by the end of the current fiscal year, said Deputy Director-Gneral at the Department of Roads, Devendra Karki.
Karki said works are going on for completing the 86-kilometre Sheetalpati-Musikot road and the 107-kilometre Chhinchu-Jajarkot roads within this fiscal year. He claimed that these two highways will be black-topped in the next fiscal year.
He said road construction in the districts of the far-west and Mid-west regions were moving ahead rapidly compared to the hilly districts in the Eastern Development Region not linked to the road network.
Similarly, he said construction of the Surkhet-Khidkijyula-Jumla (110 kilometers) road has been expedited, adding the Highway would be completed after a year.
In 2011, an agreement was signed between the World Bank and the government to complete this road within 2015. This highway is being constructed under the Road Sector Development Project with the grant and loan assistance of the World Bank.
According to the Ministry of Finance, of the total Rs. 6.53 billion earmarked for this road project, 55 per cent was loan while 45 per cent was grant assistance.
Chief of the Foreign Aid Coordination Division, Madhu Kumar Marasini, said the international community was ready to provide support for the development of the country. "They desire that the current political impasse in the country ends soon," he said, adding that there was no decrease in the commitment for foreign assistance in this sector.
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