The final report of a high-profile feasibility study conducted by Rites India Ltd, an Indian consultant company, has given a green signal for the construction of the railway track in central Tarai for its vantage in terms of overland connections as well as socio-economic activities, officials said.[break]
“We may chalk out a detailed design of the segment this fiscal,” said joint-secretary Tulsi Sitaula, chief of Construction Section at the Ministry of Physical Planning and Works. “We are working out on the budgetary part.”
According to officials, the Bardibas-Birgunj railway would be an elemental part of the transport loop in central Tarai keeping in view the other projects that target to connect the region to other important destinations, including Indian towns across the border.
If all goes well, central Tarai would be connected to the capital by the 73-kilometer Khokana- Nijgadh fast-track. Nepal´s second international airport has long been planned at Nijgadh.
Similarly, the government of India is constructing a 25 kilometers railway track from Bardibas to Jaleshwar. The 51-kilometer Jaleshwar-Jaynagar railway track, which has not been in use since long, is also being reconstructed by the government of India under the same project.
“Railway operation is very expensive and needs wider scope of human movement and trading,” said Sitaula. “So the Bardibas-Birgunj seems to be the most sustainable. Rites India´s report too highlights this factor.”
“If the government allocates budget through the upcoming statement, we will go for global bidding to select consultants to prepare detailed designs,” he added. “We have been holding intensive consultations with the Finance Ministry in this regard.”
Govt investment must
The feasibility study worth Rs 80 million conducted by Rite India has pointed out that the government should contribute at least 50 of the expenses for east-west railway service to materialize. “Private sectors alone cannot undertake a mega-project like this,” Sitaula quoted the report´s recommendation.
The 1,315 kilometers Kakarbhitta-Mahendranagar railway project is estimated to cost Rs 100 billion. According to the report, construction of Kathmandu-Pokhara railway track would be expensive owing to tunnels and is also less sustainable considering the region´s meager trading scope.
“Comparatively, the Gaindakot-Anbu Khareni seems more viable, but not as much as in the southern plains,” said Sitaula.
Related story
Janakpur-Jayanagar Railway to come into operation from Sunday
-1200x560_20210819165745.jpg)
