Govt plans to start DPR of Palanse-Sanga tunnels soon

Kathmandu, August 7

The construction of two tunnels along the road from Suryabinayak in Bhaktapur to Dhulikhel, which has been in the government’s plan since 2010, is nearing materialisation as the detailed project report is expected to be initiated from March.

As per the government’s plan, the Department of Roads (DoR) will be responsible for construction of the tunnels, which it expects to complete by 2023.

The tunnel project will be constructed with loan assistance from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

“We have completed the pre-feasibility and feasibility study of the project. The initial reports show that the tunnel project is feasible and now we are going to conduct the environment impact assessment (EIA)-related works,” said Sanjaya Kumar Shrestha, deputy director general of DoR.

As per the initial reports, it is feasible to construct the two tunnels in the selected areas — one which will carry traffic from Palanse to Sanga (1.30 km) and another from Sanga to Palanse (1.23 km).

According to Shrestha, the tunnels will be built simultaneously along the 16-km Suryabinayak-Dhulikhel road.

The DoR is planning to finish the EIA report by the next six months and start detailed project report (DPR) from March next year. It plans to begin construction of the tunnels from March 2020.

“As per the agreement with JICA, the government has to provide the compensation for the land that will be acquired for the tunnels, relocate the affected settlements and clear the right of way,” informed Shrestha.

According to the feasibility study, it will cost an estimated Rs 22 billion to construct the tunnels. However, the exact cost will be finalised only after the DPR has been completed. The Japanese government will be providing a soft loan assistance for the project at 0.2 per cent interest rate.

Earlier too the Japanese government had provided financial assistance to construct the 9.14-km long Tinkune-Suryabinayak road, which was completed in 2011.