The pace of infrastructure development, which is crucial to a country's overall growth, has been frustratingly slow in Nepal. This is evident when we consider the Mid-Hill Highway. For example, barely 90% of this highway's 135-kilometer Baglung stretch has been completed. The remaining 13 kilometers will be completed within a year. The Mid-Hill Highway, a critical infrastructure project in Nepal, was designed to connect hill villages and promote development in areas dominated by rugged hill terrains. The project, which spans 1,879 kilometers from Chiwa Bhajyaang in Panchthar to Jhulaghat in Baitadi, was initiated in 2007 with high expectations since it will directly benefit around 10 million people living in 26 districts abutting the highway. Eighteen years later, progress remains slow. According to Sachin Shrestha, spokesperson for the Pushpa Lal (Mid-Hill) Highway Directorate, only 78.23% of the construction has been finished, with around 1463 kilometers of the road blacktopped. Meanwhile, around Rs. 65.97 billion of a total budget of Rs. 84.33 billion has already been spent.
The slow construction of a key highway, third after the East-West and Postal Highway, to connect the nation tells us another sad tale: Nepal's inability to accomplish infrastructure projects on schedule. Besides the Mid-Hill Highway, several national pride projects, including the Kathmandu-Terai Fast Track, the Narayanghat-Butwal section of the East-West Highway, the Postal (Hulaki) Highway, and several hydropower projects — Upper Tamakoshi, Maikhola, Upper Seti, and Budhi Gandaki, to name a few — have faced repeated delays due to a mix of reasons, including political interference, financial mismanagement, and bureaucratic inefficiencies. Poor project management has been one of the major reasons for lengthy delays. Many infrastructure projects in Nepal have suffered from inadequate planning and lack of accountability. Contractors are often awarded contracts without scrutiny, leading to poor performance on many civil contracts, which ultimately had to be cancelled. Sections of the Mid-Hill Highway had to be redone owing to contract failures, resulting in time and resource waste. Political instability complicates the matter further. Instead of a continuous, long-term vision, initiatives are influenced by shifting political interests. Many of our national pride projects, including the Mid-Hill Highway, have suffered due to these hurdles. Corruption is another big issue, while financial mismanagement, a lack of transparency, and bureaucratic red tape slow down even a well-thought-out project’s implementation.
Mid-hill Highway makes 64 percent progress in one and half deca...
The consequences of these delays are tremendous and multidimensional. Most importantly, costs overrun way beyond the initial estimates. The Mid-Hill Highway was intended to facilitate trade, enhance tourism, and encourage people to stay in the hills rather than encouraging people to migrate down to cities in the lower plains or overseas. However, underdeveloped infrastructure such as roads and electricity results in restricted connection, compelling inhabitants to endure hardship. Such a frustrating situation calls for the government of the day to prioritize the completion of this highway along with many other delayed infrastructure projects to ensure that the people receive economic and other benefits from such projects. Conclusion of projects on schedule, accountability procedures, and rigorous supervision are required to avoid future delays. Infrastructure is critical for Nepal's growth, and if projects such as the Mid-Hill Highway, which is seen as a game changer for our economic growth, continue to languish, the country's economic objectives will remain unfulfilled. A dedication to timely execution, honest governance, and strategic planning is crucial to achieving better results on economic and development fronts.
