325 kms of roads blacktopped, 80 road bridges constructed: Economic Survey

-Sanchita Ghimire

KATHMANDU, MAY 29 : The blacktopping of 325 kms of roads and construction of 80 different road bridges have been completed in the first eight months of the current fiscal year, 2021/22, according to the Economic Survey Report unveiled by the government yesterday.

Similarly, the roads measuring 265 kms were graveled while 95 kms of roads were repaired.  33,871 kms of roads were expanded  (16,939 kms blacktopped and 8,821 kms fair-weather roads) in the country in the review period as opposed to 16,614 kms blacktopped, 8,071 kms graveled and 8,931 kms fair-weather roads until the corresponding period previous FY, 2020/21. A total of 192 bridges were constructed in the previous FY.

A total of 64,617 kms of roads including fair-weather, graveled and blacktopped at the provincial and local levels were constructed in the first eight months of the current FY as compared to 63,696 km roads in the previous FY. Of the total constructed roads, mountainous region has made up 16 percent, the hilly area 55 percent and Tarai 29 percent.

A national pride project, 1,157 km- Mid-Hilly Highway, has added 44 km of roads during the review period. Of a total of the proposed129 new bridges along the Highway, 92 have been completed so far. 81 kms roads along the Postal Highway have been completed and five bridges. Gaidakot-Ramdi-Maldhunga road under the Kaligandaki corridor has got 64 km road blacktopped.

One hundred 32 kms of roads along the Maldhunga-Beni-Jomsom-Korala were graveled and 25 km blacktopped. The 261 km- Simkot-Sarisalla roads under the Karnali corridor were added three km. The 241 km blacktopped road under the Madan Bhandari Highway saw the addition 4 kms of roads. 2 kms were added to the Rani-Biratnagar-Itahari-Dharan road section, 1.2 kms to the Jatahi-Janakpur-Dhalkebar road section, 2.2 kms to the Birgunj-Pathalaiya road section and 500 meters to the Mohana-Attariya road section.

Under local infrastructures, 215 suspension bridges and four road bridges were constructed. With this, the total number of suspension bridges has hit 9,388 while the same of road bridges in the country is now 627. Out of 143 identified twine, 134 have been replaced, during the review period. Of the 79 km railway in Nepali territory under the Jaynagar-Janakpur-Kurtha-Bijalpura and Bathanaha-Biratnagar railway, 56 km have been completed. Jaynagar-Kurtha railway has come into operation in the current FY.

Laying trackbed along the 1.5 km- Bardibas-Nijgadh railway under the East-West electric railway has completed. With this, the 50.2- km railway has got trackbed laying. A feasibility study has been carried out to run water transportation in the Karnali river (Khakraula-Khimadi (115 km), the Kaligandaki river (Ramdi-Devghat (95 km), the Koshi river (Chatara-Tumlingtar (75 km), the Narayani river (Devghat-Gandak (85 km), the Trishuli river (Devghat-Muglin (22 km) and the Sunkoshi river (Arun confluence and above (22 km) in the first eight months of the current fiscal year. RSS