Suryabinayak-Dhulikhel road to be constructed in three years

This is part of a drive to widen the road from Suryabinayak to Dhulikhel along the Araniko Highway.

In this connection, the Suryabinayak-Dhulikhel, Dhulikhel-Sindhuli-Bardibas road project has solicited bids.

The project has recently prepared Detail Project Report (DPR) and put forward its construction process. The government has called for bids with an estimated cost of Rs 4.89 billion for the expansion of the Sanga -Dhulikhel road on the internal resource.

After the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) pulled out its hand from the project, the Department of Roads intensified its preparation to put forward the construction work on its own.

It requires Rs 9 billion for the expansion of the Suryabinayak-Dhulikhel road as per the DPR. The project's senior divisional engineer Shambhu Prasad Acharya said the bidding was called for the expansion of the Sanga-Dhulikhel road along the Kavrepalanchowk section under the Suryabinayak-Dhulikhel road widening drive as the problem had surfaced in 1.5 to a 2-km portion of the road in Sanga as per the report.

The Kavrepalanchowk section stretching from Sanga to Dhulikhel is around 10 kilometers. According to Acharya, the contract winner is obliged to complete the construction within three years and also should take up responsibility for maintenance of the constructed road for up to one year.

The process to this effect would be completed in mid-September and contract signing would be held by mid-September.

As per the DPR, the contractor should construct a motorable four-lane road and service lane with a two-meter footpath on both sides.

Acharya shared that the construction works would gain momentum from mid-October this year.

Separate bidding would be solicited for the construction and widening of a road from Sanga to Suryabinayak.

It may be noted that the project had issued a 35-day notice in July urging the owners to remove unauthorized structures from both sides of the highway.

The Department of Roads had initiated the process to expand the road from Dhulikhel to Bhaktapur via Banepa some years ago taking into consideration huge traffic pressure. ---