New contract signed for two road projects

A new contract has been awarded for two road sections, Phoksingtar-Simpani and Andherikhola-Phoksingtar under the Sagarmatha National Highway. Both the projects were stranded for years due to sheer negligence of the construction companies, it has been said.

The new contract took place after terminating the agreement with the previous construction companies, said Gopal Prasad Khakurel, chief of the Gaighat-Diktel road office, Udayapur.

On 26 July, 2016, the Dev Narayan Paban-Mainachuli-Khampche JV had won the contract to blacktop the Phoksingtar-Simpani (26 kilometers) at around Rs 550 million with the completion deadline of 25 July, 2020. But, the contract ended after the contractor failed to meet the deadline for the project, he said.

Similarly on 30 August, 2018, the Mainachuli-Siddhisai Prakash JV was awarded the contract to blacktop the Andherikhola-Phoksingtar road at approximately Rs 110 million with the completion timeline being 11 April, 2022.

But, the contract was terminated for the failure of the contractor to complete the project on time, he said, adding that their repeated calls to the contractors for completing the project on time were unheard of.

Also, there is a delay in blacktopping the Simpani-Mahure section (23 kilometers) under the Gaighat-Diktel road, complained the local people.

Negligence of the contractor has been blamed for the delay. The contract was awarded on 4 July, 2016 with the completion deadline of 13 July, 2020. The deadline has now been extended till 16 July 2023, said Chief District Officer, Khotang, Surya Prasad Sedain.

The local people halted the construction works for one month, accusing the contractor of a delay in the construction, a lack of quality work and not paying remuneration to the workers.

Similarly, the Diktel-Gaighat road for which the then Prime Minister Man Mohan Adhikari laid the foundation stone in 2051 BS is awaiting blacktopping. As a result, transportation has been affected; the transport system operates only for six months during winter.

In 2073 BS, the then Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel allocated Rs 2.6 billion to blacktop 101 kilometers of the 142-kilometer road. However, the project has been stranded due to negligence of the contractor, it has been said.