KATHMANDU, Sept 7: The full scale of destruction caused by the Bhotekoshi flood is beginning to emerge, with the government estimating that rebuilding the damaged infrastructure and other assets could cost as much as Rs 900 billion.
An initial assessment by experts puts the immediate reconstruction bill at between Rs 800 billion and Rs 900 billion—a figure that could rise further once the long-term needs of the disaster-hit areas are assessed.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) formed a detailed damage assessment committee following the flood under the coordination of National Planning Commission member Arjun Bhandari.
The committee has nearly completed collecting data on the damage and is scheduled to hold discussions with representatives of government agencies and other stakeholders on Monday. It is also preparing to make its detailed assessment public.
“We will probably make the detailed damage assessment public on Monday. The process of collecting the details is almost complete,” Bhandari said.
According to Bhandari, the flood caused around Rs 400 billion in damage to government, public and private-sector assets and infrastructure.
A member of the assessment committee said the Rs 800 billion to Rs 900 billion estimate covers the cost of immediate reconstruction. The eventual bill could be considerably higher once long-term reconstruction needs are identified.
“The Rs 800 billion to Rs 900 billion is the estimated cost of immediate reconstruction. The cost could be higher when long-term reconstruction needs are identified,” the member said.
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The committee is preparing three separate assessments: the value of current losses and damage, the cost of immediate reconstruction, and the longer-term investment required based on identified post-disaster needs.
Roads and bridges alone face Rs 50 billion rebuilding bill
The flood has left a particularly heavy reconstruction burden on the country’s road and bridge network.
Department of Roads (DoR) Director General Dr Bijaya Jaishi said the preliminary estimate for rebuilding damaged roads and bridges stands at around Rs 50 billion.
“Our preliminary assessment shows that the Bhotekoshi flood caused damage worth around Rs 30 billion to roads and bridges alone,” he said.
The flood damaged 31 bridges under the Department of Roads. When bridges under provincial governments and suspension bridges are included, the number of damaged bridges is estimated at 42.
Around 40 kilometers of roads were completely destroyed, according to Jaishi.
“We have already initiated the process for reconstructing the damaged roads,” he said.
7,570 buildings damaged or destroyed
The flood has also left thousands of families facing the loss of their homes and communities with a huge rebuilding task.
Rabindra Bohara, director general of the Department of Urban Development and Building Construction, said rebuilding damaged buildings alone would cost at least Rs 10 billion.
Of this, around Rs 5 billion is expected to be needed to rebuild private buildings and another Rs 5 billion for government offices, schools and other public structures.
The flood damaged or destroyed 7,570 government, public and private buildings across 15 local units in Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Dhading, Gorkha and Chitwan.
Rasuwa recorded 1,779 destroyed houses, including 1,043 in Gosainkunda, 112 in Kalika, 57 in Aamachhodingmo and 567 in Uttargaya.
In Nuwakot, 3,977 houses were destroyed—212 in Belkotgadhi, 3,036 in Bidur, 696 in Kispang and 43 in Tarkeshwar.
Dhading reported 1,451 destroyed houses, including 1,037 in Benighat, 107 in Gajuri, 79 in Galchhi and 228 in Siddhalek.
In Gorkha, 263 houses were destroyed, including 248 in Gandaki and 15 in Shahid Lakhan. Another 100 houses were destroyed in Ichchhakamana of Chitwan.
Drinking water projects suffer Rs 64 million damage
The flood has also damaged essential drinking water infrastructure.
According to the Department of Water Supply and Sewerage Management, 55 drinking water projects across four districts suffered damage worth around Rs 64 million.
Of the damaged projects, eight are in Rasuwa, 22 in Nuwakot, 20 in Dhading and five in Gorkha.
