Railway construction cost up
KATHMANDU:
Estimated construction cost of the proposed Mechi-Mahakali Electrified Railway’s Simara-Tamsariya section has gone up significantly. A detailed project report (DPR) of the sector shows that cost per km will be nearly Rs one billion.
The Simara-Tamsariya section that passes through areas of Parsa Wildlife Reservation (PWR) and Chitwan National Park (CNP) area and links Butwal in west is 127.1 km long. The draft DPR study reveals that the section will require investment of Rs 120.25 billion, which includes Rs 7.75 billion for compensation for land and house structures, displacement allowance, public utilities relocation and others.
This means the construction of per km railway alignment will be Rs 946 million. Compared to the estimated cost of Rs 598 million per km for Tamsariya-Butwal-Bhairahawa section, the cost is up by 58 per cent. The Department of Railways, which is preparing the DPR of the section by hiring a consultant, said that the cost inflated in Simara-Tamsariya sector as the plan includes huge works of 51 bridges and total length of the whole section has also been increased to minimise environmental impacts in the CNP and PWR.
Bridge works alone will costs Rs 48.24 billion, which is 52.8 per cent of the total estimated construction cost. A feasibility study conducted in 2010 had recommended that the Simara-Tamsariya section be linked with railway alignment of 114 km. It had 4.6 km bridge and 2.7 km tunnel; however, the route passed through the Tiger Tops, the core area of the CNP. The draft DPR recommendation shows that there will be 26.4 km bridge and 3.7 km tunnel.
In a programme organised today to present the final draft of DPR of the section, Ananta Acharya, director general of the Railways Department, said the length of the section went up as they bypassed Tiger Tops and adopted bridge for elevated railway. “The elevated portion above Postal Road in the national park will have height of eight metres, giving much space for movement of animals.”
Of the total length of the section, 60 km passes through the land of the CNP, which include seven km in the core area. The consultant has recommended building 15.2 km bridge for elevated railway in the CNP that also includes core area. The DPR is being prepared through a joint venture consisting South Korean — Soosung Engineering, Kunhwa Consulting and Engineering, Korea Rail Network Authority, Korea Transport Institute, Indian firm — International Consulting Technocrats and Nepali Full Bright Consultancy.
The plan to extend railway alignment across the CNP, the World Heritage Site for long, is being criticised by environmentalists, CNP officials and the Forest Ministry citing that the infrastructure development plan would leave negative impact on endangered animals like one-horned rhino.
Participants in the programme also suggested the government to explore other alternatives to construct the alignment via Hetuada to avoid the CNP. Earlier, Forest Ministry had suggested the same. However, representatives of consulting firms said that linking Hetauda with Simara and connecting it with Tamsariya is ‘not technically feasible’ and would increase the length by 52.8 km.
Meanwhile, amid growing demand to avoid CNP in the railway development plan, the Railways Department is also preparing to conduct a feasibility study to connect Simara with Tamsariya via Hetauda. “We will be inviting expression of interest before Dashain or immediately after Dashain,” said Acharya. The department has set aside Rs 30 million for the study.
Source: THT
