Butwal-Narayanghat Road Improvement Plan to be Delayed

Department of Roads (DoR) has decided to restart the process of appointing a contractor for the East-West highway expansion project, therefore the planned expansion of the Butwal-Narayanghat will be delayed, reports The Kathmandu Post.

The project was to be aided by a financial loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB). After issuing a global tender 15 months ago, DoR had forwarded the bids of three companies to the ADB. The tender saw participation from 25 companies from China, India, and Italy. However, the selection process was canceled as none of the three companies forwarded from DoR worked out.

What they are saying:

• “The ADB disqualified the first company due to technical reasons while the financial status of the second company was poor which didn’t allow us to enter into an agreement,” said Suresh Poudel, deputy director of ADB Project Directorate Office of the DoR which looks after projects funded by the multilateral lender.
• “Similarly, the third company had quoted a much lower price than the estimated cost of the project. Therefore, we have decided to scrap the procurement process and reissue the global tender.” The department has said it will call for global bid within two weeks. “We are planning to appoint a contractor for the project within nine months,” said Poudel.

The Details:

• Once the project takes off, it is expected to complete in three and a half years.
• The estimated cost of the project is Rs. 18 billion.
• A $186.80 million loan was approved by the ADB for the Nepal government to use for the project in December 2016 for the project.
• The highway expansion project has been divided into two phases: Narayanghat-Daunne and Daunne-Butwal.
• According to the project plans, the four-lane upgraded highway will have two six-meter wide service lanes on both sides at busy market areas which will separate the slow and fast-moving vehicles.
• Along with that, the roads will have trees on either side and proper drainage system.

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