KATHMANDU: If things go according to plan, the construction work of East-West Electrical Railway Line will move ahead at a faster pace from the next fiscal year. To expedite the construction work, the Department of Railways is mulling over signing multi-year contracts for construction of railway track bed.
The proposed east-west railway line stretches from Kakkarbhitta in the east to Gaddachoki in the far-west. Currently, the work has begun in five kilometres of 108-km Simara-Bardibas segment.
The railway department, later this fiscal, is planning to call a tender for construction of additional 25-km track bed in Simara-Bardibas segment, according to Ananta Acharya, director general of the department. The track bed is the foundation on which the railway track is laid.
In a bid to sign multi-year contracts for construction of 25-km track bed, the department has sought approval from the National Planning Commission (NPC) and the Ministry of Finance (MoF).
“Since track bed construction takes around 30 months, multi-year contracts are a must. In this regard, the MoF must agree to allocate necessary resources so that construction works don’t face impediments,” Acharya said.
The track bed construction work consists of building infrastructure, such as drainage structures, animal crossings, underpasses, embankments, earthen drains and bio-engineering works.
If the NPC and MoF give a go-ahead, the department will be able to utilise around Rs 400 million, which has remained unused so far this fiscal, as mobilisation cost to contractors to be chosen for track bed construction. Out of total Rs 1.4 billion allocated to railway development plan this year, Rs 450 million was fixed for starting construction work, of which only around Rs 50 million has been spent till date.
The department officials said all 30-km of the track bed to be constructed will be based on detailed project report (DPR) of the Simara-Bardibas section prepared by South Korean firms last year. This section is considered as one of the most feasible and vital railway routes, as the Indian government has supported Nepal to extend the Janakpur-Jayanagar railway up to Bardibas using broad gauge track.
The DPR study concluded that construction of Simara-Bardibas section and its 36-km Simara-Birgunj link will cost around Rs 100 billion. The ambitious east-west or Mechi-Mahakali railway project will pass through various business hubs in the Terai. The department is all set to complete the DPR preparation of yet another section — Tamsaria-Butwal — soon.
Acharya said that in accordance with the government’s priorities, the department is also preparing to start DPR of the western section of Butwal-Gaddachoki section, which is around 420 km long. In the first phase, it plans to hire consultants for the Butwal-Lamahi (115 km) and Lamahi-Kohalpur (102 km) sections, out of the four sections.
The DPR study decides on detailed design of railway route and gives the estimated cost of the project, among others. According to the department, the consultants to be hired will prepare detailed design, the infrastructure required for operation of railway service and bid documents to hire contractors for building railway alignments. - See more at: http://thehimalayantimes.com/fullNews.php?headline=Railways+dept+mulls+multi-year+contracts&NewsID=413935#sthash.CovG1w2q.dpuf
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