KATHMANDU, Jan 9: The construction of Nagdhunga tunnel is going to be pushed back by one more year. It is almost certain that the construction of the tunnel will not be completed within the extended deadline.

According to the initial contract agreement, this project should have been completed by April 26, 2023. According to informed sources, the break-through and finishing work of the tunnel is still incomplete, so it cannot be completed within the stipulated time. This project was extended by 86 days and the extended deadline for this project is June 2023, but even by that time, there is a possibility that only the break-through work of the project tunnel will be completed.

Madhav Prasad Adhikari, deputy project director of Nagdhunga Tunnel Construction Project, said that the under-construction tunnel will achieve a break-through within the next five months. 

"We have set a goal to break through the tunnel within the next five months. We have dug 1,782 meters of the main tunnel out of 2,688 meters so far.We will finish the remaining 920 meters soon,” he said.

The deputy project director said that at least one more year should be extended to complete the entire work of the tunnel. "The work cannot be done only by digging the tunnel. It seems that it will take one more year to prepare all the necessary structures from the slope of the tunnel floor," he said.

During the construction of this tunnel, there was an internal landslide in the tunnel last October, so the construction period has been extended for some time. One hundred meters of tunnel was damaged due to the landslide. The deputy project director said that the problem of the landslide in the tunnel has now been resolved.

Similarly, some time ago, the construction work of the project was stopped for a week due to the obstruction of the locals. 

“At present, there is a budget deficit of Rs 250 million for the acquisition of land for the tunnel. On the other hand, there is a lack of budget for the necessary expenses of the office,” he said.

According to the monthly progress report released by the project on Sunday, 851 meters of the main tunnel towards Kathmandu and 931 meters towards Dhading have been dug. 

Likewise, the physical progress towards the main tunnel, evacuation tunnel, working audit and cross passage has been 73.30 percent. The overall physical progress of the project so far has been 47.90 percent and the overall financial progress has been 49.59 percent.

Meanwhile, the construction of three underpasses has been completed under this project. Similarly, all four box culverts have been completed. The work of the overpass structure and three bridges have also been completed. Almost 95 percent of the work of compensation for the flyover to be constructed has been completed so far. Out of the five substructures of the flyover, only two have been completed. The other three sub-structures are still under construction.

The contract to build this project has been awarded to the Japanese company Hazama Ando Corporation. To build the tunnel, the Japanese government has agreed to provide a loan for 40 years at an interest rate of 0.01 percent. This project will be built at the cost of Rs 22.5 billion. Of which, JICA will provide a loan of Rs 16.5 billion and the Government of Nepal will contribute Rs 6 billion.

Even though the then Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli had laid the foundation stone of the tunnel on October 23, 2019, the work of digging the tunnel started only after almost 14 months. 

 
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