Expansion of Malekhu-Mugling road gains momentum after festival

KATHMANDU, Nov 19: The expansion of the Malekhu-Mugling road along the Prithvi Highway has been accelerated with the end of the festivals.

The Sharma-ZICG Joint Venture started working from December 2022, with an agreement to complete the expansion work within three years. However, only 18 percent of the work has been finished so far. According to Sahan Vaidya, engineer of the construction company, the pace of work has recently been accelerated.

He said that until a week ago, 100 workers were on the site. However, this number has now been increased to 150 workers. Vaidya added, “By next week, there will be 200 workers on this site.”

Currently, six road bridges are under construction. The floor work of Hugdi Bridge is underway while the work of five bridge pillars has been completed. The work to cut the wall and build a wall towards the river is ongoing.

According to Vaidya, the work of laying the base for blacktopping will be carried out in a few days. The construction company said that although the project has been delayed due to mapping and other works, the work will be accelerated. Vaidya said, “If the work had been carried out continuously, 40 percent would have been completed by now.”

The expansion work is currently underway on the road section from Mugling to Malekhu that extends for 39 kilometers. Vaidya said that the expansion is being done in four different ways. Two lanes i.e. nine meters wide roads are being built at locations where cutting through hills and building retaining walls is a challenge. On uphill stretches, a three-lane road (12 meters wide) will be built.

In market areas like Kurintar, Charaudi, Bishaltar, Chumlingtar, and Majhimtar, which cover around six kilometers, a four-lane road (18 meters wide) is being built. In Mugling, Benighat, and Malekhu bazaar, a six-lane road (26 meters wide) is being constructed. A wide road is going to be built in an area of more than one kilometer.

According to Project Manager Bijay Darai, the construction work in the western section of the Nagdhunga-Mugling road project (Narayanghat-Mugling) has been accelerated following the conclusion of the festival season. The Nagdhunga-Mugling road, along the Prithvi Highway, has been divided into two sections for the purpose of upgrading.

Darai said that in the detailed study report prepared by an Indian consultancy company, errors in the data were identified and corrected and re-prepared. Due to this, the progress slowed down as they could not work for six months.

The expansion of the road has been started with the help of the World Bank. The Sharma-ZICG Joint Venture has been working on a contract worth Rs 4.80 billion.