Kathmandu, June 18: A Nepali delegation comprising of senior government officials is in Beijing to hold talks on preparing a detailed project report (DPR) for the proposed Kerung-Kathmandu railway project.
The delegation is being led by Devendra Karki, Secretary at the Ministry of Physical Planning and Transportation.
The Chinese government has already listed the cross-border Trans Himalayan railway among the projects to be built under the Belt and Road Initiative.
Similarly, the Nepali government plans to mobilize a Chinese grant worth Rs 2 billion for expediting the groundwork for a DPR of the Kerung-Kathmandu railway project in addition to a detailed feasibility study of Kathmandu-Pokhara-Lumbini railway. However, the two neighboring countries are yet to decide as to who will fund the DPR of the Kerung-Kathmandu railway.
It is said that the Nepali team is looking for a major breakthrough regarding the detailed project report of the Kerung-Kathmandu railway project in their negotiations with Chinese railway officials.
The northern neighbor had conducted a pre-feasibility study of the project at its own cost last year with a conclusion that it was feasible and would cost around Rs 255 billion.
