Vishwa-BVSR to resume work at Postal Higway project

KATHMANDU, Aug 9 :

Construction works at Sections 4, 5 and 6 of the Postal Highway will soon resume as the dispute between Vishwa-BVSR Hyderabad and the Indian Government has been resolved.

Project manager of the Section 3, Nabo Nath Jha informed that the dispute has been resolved and the contractor is waiting to receive Rs 50 million to resume works.

The contractor had walked away from the sites at central Tarai a year ago, blaming that the government did not clear land for the construction, and also demanding compensation for the delay.

Actually, the consultant, Rites Limited, had declined to approve the claim amount of contractor, prompting the contractor to seek a petition for dispute resolution in India.

A 1,500-km project that spans the country - from the east to the west -- is being developed with Indian grants, and both consultant and contractors are from India and the tender was also awarded by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs.

Phase I of the project that covers a 605-km stretch is already behind the schedule and the total progress of the project is below 10 percent. The progress of three sections is at almost zero level.

The three sections cover a 320 km stretch from Dhanusha to Parsa. Secretary at the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport Tulasi Prasad Sitaula said they are yet to be informed by the Indian side that the contractor is going to resume work.

Likewise the progress is sluggish at the sections 1, 2 and 6 -- though not as pathetic as at the sections handled by Vishwa-BVSR Hyderabad.

In April, following contractor´s petition for the dispute resolution, a delegation led by Sujata Mehta of India´s Ministry of External Affairs had flown to Kathmandu to take stock to discuss the issue with Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Bimalendra Nidhi.

The concluding joint statement after the recent visit of the Indian Prime Minister states that both sides have reaffirmed their commitment to expedite the construction of Postal Highway and feeder roads and to complete the phase I expeditiously.

Source: Republica