MUSTANG, Feb 19: Work to upgrade the Jomsom-Korala road section, which falls under the Kaligandaki Corridor national pride project, is going on at a rapid pace. 

The project office claims that around 40 percent of the upgrade has been completed. However, all the work that has been completed so far was easy compared to what remains. The coming days are bound to test the resolve of the project office.

Currently, construction work on 12 bridges under the project is also gathering pace along with the road upgrade. The project office estimates that an additional 18 bridges will be needed apart from the ones already under construction.

Project engineer Jagat Prajapati said completing the project on time will be a big challenge as the difficult part lies ahead. The seasonal nature of the work is a further challenge for the contractors. 

Upgrade the Beni-Jomsom (76 km) and Jomsom-Korala (110 km) road sections will take place under different packages. According to Prajapati, the Beni-Jomsom section will undergo blacktopping to make it operational as a two-lane road. The Jomsom-Korala section, by contrast, will only undergo upgrade but no blacktopping. 

“The Beni-Jomsom section will undergo blacktopping so that vehicles can pass on either side simultaneously without having to stop and make way,” said Prajapati.

The estimated cost of blacktopping Beni-Jomsom is Rs 2.4 billion while the upgrade cost for Jomsom-Korala is Rs 2.6 billion. 

The upgrade work started in fiscal year 2017/18 and contractors have targeted completion of the work within this year. However, engineers on the project said the target is going to be difficult to meet and a deadline extension may be needed. 

 
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