According to the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport (MoPIT), the Japan International Corporation Agency (JICA) is studying the tunnel plan with the technical assistance of the Japanese government.
Earlier, the Department of Roads (DoR) had conducted a feasibility study and concluded that a 2.3-km tunnel linking Imakhel, Nagdhunga with Sisnekhola, Naubise was economically viable. According to its report, the tunnel including the access road would cost around Rs 5 billion.
“While our study shows that a tunnel on the Nagdhunga-Naubise section is viable, a fresh feasibility study is being conducted by JICA,” said Tulasi Prasad Sitaula, secretary at the MoPIT. He added that since the public private partnership (PPP) model had not been very successful in Nepal’s context, the new study would also help the government to find donors.
Based on the previous feasibility study, the DoR had recommended to the MoPIT to insert the Imakhel-Sisnekhola tunnel in the PPP project list and implement the scheme by involving the private sector under the build, own and operate (BOT) modality. Under the BOT system, a private firm builds and operates an infrastructure project and hands it over to the government after 30 years.
The MoPIT said that it would base its decision regarding the project and financing mechanism on the conclusion of the JICA study which is expected to be completed in five months.
Consultants GEOCE and Tech Studio of Engineering which together conducted the feasibility study for the DoR had suggested building a tunnel 8 m wide and 2.3 km long on the Nagdhunga-Naubise section. It would consist of two lanes and have a 3.6 percent slope. The length of the road section is 14.5 km, and the proposed tunnel would chop it down to 12.2 km.
The Imakhel-Sisnekhola tunnel has been adjudged to be the best among the three route options from the economic point of view. The other two, Imakhel-Naubise (7 km) and Totipakha-Naubise (7.7 km), cost too much and have issues of ventilation and security.
Meanwhile, the government had also planned to build a tunnel on the Tokha-Gurje section of Trishuli Highway in the northwest of the Kathmandu valley which leads to Rasuwa and the Chinese border in the north. However, a feasibility study carried out by the same consultants had advised against building the tunnel as it was not financially viable, said Arjun Jung Thapa, spokesperson of the DoR.
http://www.ekantipur.com/2013/12/28/business/new-study-under-way-for-nagdhunga-tunnel/383048.html
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