Fast-track DPR Gets Government Approval, Finally

Kathmandu, Aug 22: The government of Nepal finally approved the Detailed Project Report (DPR) of the Kathmandu-Terai Fast Track recently. According to Nepal Army, a meeting of the Cabinet on August 18 approved the DPR.

The DPR was forwarded to the Cabinet in March this year.

The Nepal Army has estimated the news construction cost of the national pride project at Rs. 175 billion. “Following the approval, it will now help us take the remaining work, including the international contract bidding process for the tunnel construction,” said NA spokesperson Bigyan Dev Pandey.

However, NA has already called international bidding and short listed six international contractors to carry out the construction of 87 bridges. Among the short listed companies, there are 5 Chinese and one Turkish.

According to Ministry of Defense the DPR was approved with some minor changes.

As per the newly endorsed DPR, the total length of the fast track will be 72.5 km. Earlier, the length was estimated at 76.2 km.

The previous DPR (prepared by Indian company) had only one tunnel for the project, but the latest DPR has proposed three tunnel and 87 bridges. The latest DPR was prepared by South Korean Soosung Engineering Company Ltd. The project was going to be developed at par with the Asian Highway standards of A category.

The road section will stretch up to 25 meters in the hilly area and 27 meters in the terai.