The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has agreed to reconstruct a severely damaged section of the BP Highway, which was destroyed during continuous rainfall on Asoj 11 and 12 last year.
According to Keshav Sharma, Secretary at the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, JICA has committed to rebuilding the damaged portion. As per Suman Yogesh, Chief of the Bhaktapur Road Division, JICA will reconstruct a 3.2 km section of the highway from Barkhe Khola to Piples, although the government had initially requested support for 5.5 km.
“JICA informed us that due to budget constraints, they can only rebuild 3.2 km. We will reconstruct the remaining 2.3 km ourselves and have already issued a tender notice for it,” said Yogesh.
JICA is expected to spend around NPR 3 billion for its part of the reconstruction. The agreement was finalized in Jestha of this year. JICA was also the original builder of the 160-kilometer BP Highway, a project that spanned 20 years and cost 26 billion yen. Parts of the highway were damaged during the 2015 earthquake, and it took 18 months to restore those sections.
Following last year’s damage, JICA conducted an on-site inspection in Kartik and decided to carry out its own design and survey, despite having been provided with preliminary assessments by the government.
All Reconstructed Sections to Be Two-Lane Roads
The rebuilt road segments, including those done by JICA and the Nepali government, will now be two-lane, an upgrade from the original single-lane structure built by JICA.
The Bhaktapur Road Division is reconstructing 25 km, while the Sindhuli Road Division is handling 5 km. The reconstruction is divided into four main contracts:
- Package 1: From Charsaybise to Bhakundebesi (11 km) – NPR 1.14 billion contract with Lama Nav Kantipur JV, to be completed in 2 years.
- Package 2: From Dalabesi to Charsaybise (8.5 km) – NPR 1.22 billion contract with Thani Kamaljeet A-One JV, also with a 2-year timeline.
- Package 3: Remaining 2.3 km, for which a tender notice was issued recently.
- Sindhuli Section: From Nepalthok to Barkhe Khola (5 km) – NPR 620 million contract with Kshitiz Thising Construction Services.
“Although only 3 km was actually damaged in Sindhuli, we had remaining budget, so we extended the contract to include 5 km of full-width reconstruction,” said Hamala from the Sindhuli Division.
Stronger, More Resilient Highway Ahead
Officials claim that once reconstruction is complete, the BP Highway will be more resilient and capable of withstanding extreme monsoon events like those of last Asoj. “We are rebuilding it stronger than before,” Yogesh stated confidently.
