Kathmandu: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on Saturday inaugurated 165 strategic roads - a road in each electoral constituency - amid a special ceremony organized at the Prime Minister’s Official Residence in Baluwatar, Kathmandu.

PM Oli, during the inaugural ceremony, turned a switch on to mark the commencement of the construction of these strategic roads in all 165 electoral constituencies across the country.

Under the newly-introduced project, each lawmaker elected through the first-past-the-post (FPTP) electoral system, is required to identify one strategic road in his/her constituency. The bases for the selection of strategic roads range from the prospective road which may contribute to the economic, social, industrial and agricultural development to the road which helps to enhance road connectivity as a link road to the national highway to the road which links the constituency to the road having an access to the international boundary.

Similarly, the parliament members can designate the roads connecting the south-north road network or connecting different constituencies of the district headquarters as a strategic road.

The government also aims to focus on the under-construction or neglected or dilapidated roads or those which have remained incomplete for many years under the project introduced at a time when the ruling party is on the verge of a formal split and PM Oli is expediting his activities targeting the next election.

The government aims to complete the construction of these 165 roads within three years under a budget ceiling of Rs 600 million for each road. Under the project, the roads in the mountain districts with only one constituency will be constructed with an investment of not more than Rs 600 million while the roads in the hill districts having one constituency will be built under the budget ceiling of Rs 500 million.

The maximum budget allocated for the construction of strategic roads in 21 districts with two constituencies will be not more than Rs 400 million each, according to the government. Similarly, the government plans to invest a maximum of Rs 250 million to construct roads in 20 districts which have three or more constituencies. For the construction of strategic roads in the constituencies of Kathmandu district, a budget of Rs 200 million will be allocated for each road.

Upon the completion of the project, the country will add at least 2,210 kilometers of the blacktopped road at the cost of Rs 57.1 billion.

The government is confident that the road construction will help materialize the aspiration of ‘Prosperous Nepal, Happy Nepali’, according to the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transportation.