Construction works on Larcha Dry Port resumes

SINDHUPALCHOWK, Dec 15:

Construction works on Larcha Dry Port have resumed after an interruption of five months.

Contractors had stopped works on the dry point, which is situated near the Tatopani Customs Office in the district, after floods on Bhotekoshi River swept away an under construction bridge. Later, the landslide in Jure and subsequent damming of Bhotekoshi River further made thing worse for the contractor.

Officials of Beijing Real Estate Group (BREG), which is developing the project, said the project will be delayed by eight months. Sulochana Lamichhane, a representative of BREG, said construction works resumed two weeks ago after a temporary bridge was built over the Bhotekoshi River. "We are giving finishing touches to the main building and focusing on leveling works in parking area," she said, adding: "We have also started the process to build a bridge over the Bhotekoshi River to connect the dry port with the Araniko Highway."

The landslide of July 19 had swept away an under construction bridge and a temporary bridge built by the project to transport construction materials to the project site. But the floods swept away everything except the concrete pillars.

Lamichhane said the contractor had to face loss of around Rs 100 million due to the landslide.

BREG had begun construction works in December 2012 setting a target of completing the project within 26 months. The targeted completion date was February, 2015. As around 80 percent of the construction work was already completed, the Chinese contractor had expected to complete the work before the given time.

"It, however, will take another eight months to complete the project because of the natural disaster," Lamichhane said, adding that the Chinese government has not given them the new deadline to complete the work.

It is believed that the construction of Larcha Dry Port will give a new impetus to Nepal-China trade. The dry port is being built with financial and technical assistance of the Chinese government. Upon completion, it will accommodate 158 containers and 35 small vehicles.

China has provided financial assistance worth Rs 1.2 billion to build the dry port, a 112-meter bridge over the Bhotekoshi River and to widen 6.5-km stretch of Araniko Highway -- from Miteri Bridge along Nepal-China border to the dry port.

The Chinese contractor, however, is yet to begin road widening works. "We could not start road widening works due to change in design," Lamichhane said, adding, "We had to change the design as it was made four year ago."

Source: Republica