KATHMANDU, May 27: The progress of national pride and strategic road projects is found to be pathetic, with most of the projects failing to achieve the target within stipulated time.
According to the economic survey 2026/27, only 1,529 kilometers of the Mid-Hill Highway have been blacktopped as of mid-March of the current Fiscal Year (FY). Likewise, an additional 19 km of the road segment out of the total 1,879 kilometers, has been blacktopped in the first eight months of this fiscal year. Construction of 114 out of 137 bridges in this project has been completed.
Likewise, a total of 29 km out of the 1,857 km long Postal Highway have been blacktopped in the review period. So far, a total of 1,381 km of this road segment have been blacktopped and 143 out of 250 bridges have been built.
The Gaindakot-Ramdi-Maldhunga section under the North-South Kaligandaki Corridor nears completion. A total of 292 out of 293 km of the segment has been blacktopped, as 36 bridges have been built in this section.
Progress of road construction under National Pride Project lags...
In the Maldhunga-Beni-Jomsom-Korala section, blacktop, gravel and bridge construction work is under progress.
A track has been opened along the Karnali Corridor. However, out of 269 km of the stretch, graveling is completed in only 41.5 km so far.
The survey mentions that an additional 14 kilometers of road have been blacktopped and 11 bridges have been constructed in the Koshi Corridor till Falgun in the current fiscal year.
Out of 740 km of the Madan Bhandari Highway, 395.5 km have been blacktopped including 30.5 km this year. Similarly, 145 out of 185 bridges have been completed.
In the Galchhi-Trishuli-Mailung-Syafrubesi-Rasuwagadhi section, 39 km of the stretch has been blacktopped to two lanes, as 23 bridges have been constructed in this segment.
The first layer of blacktopping has been completed on 78.4 km of the Muglin-Pokhara road. Four out of six of the Madi River Bridges in Damauli has been constructed.
For the Siddha Baba Tunnel, 1,126 m of concrete lining of the main tunnel has been over. The final concrete lining of the bypass tunnel has also reached the final stage. Preparations are underway to bring the tunnel into operation from the second week of October.
Seven tunnels are under construction on the Kathmandu-Terai/Madhes Expressway. Work on the construction of superstructure, foundation and substructure has been completed at some locations towards the construction of the bridges. Citing the delay in construction, Nepal Army earlier had proposed to extend the project deadline by another three years.
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