Survey started to widen section of Ring Road
KATHMANDU, APR 05 -
The government’s plan to widen the Kathmandu valley’s Ring Road has gained momentum with the Chinese contractor starting a survey to widen two 1-km-long stretches on the Koteshwor-Kalanki section.
Under the project, the Balkhu River-Kalanki and Ekantakuna-Koteshwor stretches will be expanded as a model in the first phase. Based on these samples, the rest of the 9-km section targeted for development will be widened, said Ashok Tiwari, chief of Ring Road Widening Project.
He added that the road would be upgraded to eight lanes with a four-lane main road, a two-way service lane, two-way bicycle track and two-way pedestrian path.
The road widening plan also includes improving three intersections, bus stations and parking lots. The three junctions—Kalanki, Satdobato and Koteshwor—will be improved for uninterrupted operation of vehicles. Under the Ring Road improvement plan, the government plans to upgrade the whole road in three phases with China’s annual grant assistance.
Based on the contract signed with the Chinese contractor Shanghai Construction Group Company, the government will also be providing space to build a camp for the contractor’s office, housing facility for its workers and a station for their machinery and equipment. The government has selected Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani Limited’s (KUKL) land in Lalitpur for this purpose.
“The Chinese contractor will soon start setting up its camp,” said Tulasi Prasad Sitaula, secretary at the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport.
According to him, as soon as the camp building work is completed, additional teams will arrive in Nepal to work on the road widening project.
Ministry officials said that it would take around 40 months for the contractor to complete the work of widening the 9 km stretch. As part of the preparations, the government has directed the KUKL, Nepal Electricity Authority and Nepal Telecom to relocate their service lines built on either side of the road.
On Wednesday, the Kathmandu Valley Development Committee’s district commissioners’ offices of Kathmandu and Lalitpur also issued a 15-day public notice to clear a 31-m width on the Koteshwor-Balkhu-Kalanki stretch.
In February 2011, the government had agreed to widen the road utilizing a grant assistance from China.
However, the road improvement and widening plan had slowed down due to procedural matters. In December last year, the department and the Chinese contractor signed a pact to upgrade the 9-km Koteshwor-Kalanki stretch of the 27-km Ring Road.
Source: The Kathmandu Post
