The Ministry of Physical Planning and Works has decided to construct four link roads from Khokana, the starting point of the proposed Kathmandu-Tarai Fast Track Road, to provide access to the expressway from various points in the Kathmandu Valley.
According to the plan set by the High Level Direction Committee headed by Physical Planning Minister Top Bahadur Rayamajhi, the four roads will lead from Khokana to Harisiddhi, Satungal, Nakkhu or Ekantakuna and the Balkhu-Dakshinkali Road Saroj Man Shrestha, project manager of the Fast Track Project, said that the link roads were important for joining the Fast Track Road with the valley as no progress had been made on the Outer Ring Road Project. “We are planning to construct these roads with the budget of the Department of Roads,” he added. Originally, it had been planned that the proposed Outer Ring Road would connect with the Fast Track Road at Khokana. However, the plan fell apart following opposition by the UCPN (Maoist) prompting the ministry to look for alternative routes.
The 76 km Fast Track Road is expected to reduce travel time between the capital and the southern plains to less than one and a half hours.
According to ministry officials, the road will also act as a trade route between India and China with traffic passing over the Birgunj-Pathalaiya-Nijgadh-Khokana-Balaju-Trishuli-Syabrubesi-Rasuwagadhi route.
Work on the Fast Track Project has not moved ahead as expected due to obstacles related to land acquisition and delays in inviting expressions of interest (EoI) for its construction. The only progress achieved so far has been in track opening which is being done by the Nepal Army.
A month ago, the ministry had asked the parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) for clear directions regarding investment in the project. It has been saying that lack of definite instructions from PAC had made it difficult to involve Nepali investors not having any experience in the build-operate-transfer (BOT) system in the project “We have not received any directives so far which has delayed calling for EoIs,” said a high-level ministry official. He added that the work on land acquisition had not progressed because of negligence of the District Administration Offices.
The project has been facing difficulties regarding land acquisition particularly in Makwanpur district through which the longest portion of the Fast Track Road will pass. The High Level Direction Committee has asked the chief district officer of the district to fix the price of private land lying on the path of the Fast Track Road and pay compensation to the owners as soon as possible.
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