KATHMANDU, April 25: Vehicles are set to run on the Gwarko Flyover - the first of its kind in Nepal - by mid-June. Deep Barahi, Director of the Quality Research and Development Center and head of the project, said his team is working to complete and bring the flyover into operation within that time frame. He added that the contractor, Ashish-Samantar-Religare JV, aims to finish the work before the upcoming monsoon season.
Since December 24), the contractor company has paid a daily penalty of Rs 85,000 to continue work on the project. Authorities had set December 23 as the final deadline for completion. After the company missed the deadline, it began incurring a daily penalty at a rate of 0.05 percent. This penalty will continue for up to 200 days, during which the company must finish the work. If the company still fails to complete the project, the law permits contract termination. However, Project Director Barahi said the project is unlikely to reach that stage.
"At the current pace, we will complete 100 percent of the construction by mid-June," he said. "There will be no need to terminate the contract."
Photo Feature: Demolition of Gwarko flyover due to structural i...
During the 200-day period, the contractor will end up paying up to 10 percent in penalties. Project staff believe the company has sped up construction work since it started paying daily fines.
Authorities signed a Rs 170.68 million contract with the contractor company on February 24, 2022 to build the Gwarko Overpass. The agreement initially set February 23, 2024 as the deadline for completion. However, the contractor failed to finish the work on time, citing various reasons, prompting authorities to extend the project deadline.
After authorities extended the deadline for the second time, they set December 23, 2024 as the final deadline for project completion. However, the contractor failed to meet this extended deadline as well. As a result, the contractor has continued construction while paying daily penalties.
Project Chie Barahi said the team has completed 82 percent of the overall work and finished 98 percent of the bridge construction.
During construction, workers demolished and rebuilt a panel wall near Satdobato due to foundational problems. The project team reported that they had to dismantle about 40 meters of the wall after a fault appeared in the panel interlink. The contractor removed the damaged wall, cleared the previously filled soil and refilled the area before reconstructing the wall.
Engineers from the Quality Research Center identified a gap in the panel wall on the Satdobato side and instructed the contractor to demolish a 40-meter stretch. "This was a new approach for us, so some errors were expected during the process. We have already corrected those issues," said DirectorBarahi. "We have continuously monitored and supervised the Gwarko Overpass from the beginning."
On the Koteshwor side of the overpass, the contractor has installed panels along the entire 320-meter stretch, completing that section. On the Satdobato side, panels have been installed along 120 meters of the total 180-meter stretch, representing 66.7 percent progress.
The project has completed the construction of a 35-meter-long, four-lane bridge. However, the contractor has not yet started the blacktopping work. Once the blacktopping is complete, vehicles will start using the overpass. The traffic light installation has not started, as its design is still pending approval, according to the project team.
