The western section (Pokhara-Jamune) of the Pokhara-Muglin road project on the Prithvi Highway has made only 32 percent physical progress so far. The current 101-day extension of the contract period is due to expire on December 5.
Soujan Nepal, the project’s engineer, mentioned that the process to extend the deadline is underway after the Chinese construction company requested an additional one-year extension. Construction work on the section passing through Kaski and Tanahun began in Bhadra 2078 BS.
The three-year contract has already been extended twice after it expired in the previous Bhadra. Engineer Nepal noted that construction work has accelerated recently, and the project is expected to be completed within the next year. To date, 22 km of the one-way, four-lane road has been blacktopped, including stretches through Tharpu in Tanahun and Gagangauda in Kaski.
The project office has reported that nine out of 12 road bridges on the western section, which spans 38.88 km, are nearing completion.
The expansion and upgrading of the 81-km Pokhara-Muglin road is being supported through grant assistance from the Asian Development Bank.
