The work on the Nagdhunga-Sisnekhola tunnel has been halted for 22 days as of Monday. There is still uncertainty about when construction will resume. The halt in construction is due to local protests. Neither the government has made any efforts to start the work, nor have the locals facilitated it.

Just as Nepal’s first road tunnel was nearing its final phase before coming into operation, the halt in work has been met with indifference from the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport and local authorities. While there have been some efforts to complete basic formalities, no one has taken steps toward a long-term solution, preventing progress on the country’s first road tunnel project.

The locals have obstructed the work by repeating demands that the project has mostly already fulfilled. The project stated that the construction timeline has been delayed due to these obstructions, even though the work was in its final phase. Claiming that previously fulfilled demands still need to be properly addressed, the locals have not allowed work to proceed since March 16. Currently, construction has come to a halt on both the Kathmandu and Dhading sides. Sanjay Panthi, Senior Divisional Engineer of the Nagdhunga Tunnel Construction Project, said the issue has worsened because locals have not attended repeated calls for dialogue.

“We have sent letters requesting them to come for talks, but they haven’t shown up. We are actively trying to resolve the issue through dialogue,” he said. “Discussions are ongoing within the Department of Roads regarding how to move the construction forward.” According to him, although the project is forwarding the demands to the concerned authorities for fulfillment, the locals have not allowed the construction work to continue. It’s been nearly a month since the locals started obstructing the work, but no solution has been reached yet.

Despite repeated obstructions by locals, the ministry has not taken any initiative for an immediate solution. Even in previous instances when work was halted for a month, the concerned authorities remained indifferent. If the construction company demands compensation for the halted period, the government could face the risk of paying around 5 million rupees per day. Ward member Laram Subedi of Ward No. 2 in Chandragiri Municipality claims that the locals halted the work after the project failed to fulfill the demands it had previously agreed to address.

“This situation arose because the problems in the ward were not addressed,” he said. “We have sent letters to inform the concerned authorities about the locals’ demands, but the issues raised since the beginning of the project have not been fulfilled, even as construction nears completion.” He added that frequent changes in ministers have contributed to the problem, as they are often not well-informed about local demands.

The project has currently managed the water supply after the natural sources dried up, but he expressed concern about future costs, saying, “In the future, fees will have to be paid for the water, and not everyone will be able to afford it.” He emphasized, “If the government had taken the locals’ demands seriously and made decisions accordingly, there wouldn’t have been any problem.”

Frequent changes in project chiefs have also made it difficult to resolve immediate issues within the project. Currently, the project is without a chief. After Project Chief Gyanendra Kumar Jha was transferred to the Suryabinayak–Dhulikhel Road Project, the Nagdhunga Tunnel Construction Project has been left without a leader.

Work was underway with the goal of bringing the tunnel into operation by September–October 2025. However, problems escalated after locals disrupted the construction midway. Currently, work inside the tunnel—such as lighting, ventilation, and concrete road construction—is in its final stage.

The flyover at Kisipidi in Balambu, which is also in its final phase, has come to a halt. Locals from Tutipakha in Chandragiri–2 have demanded that the ongoing programs or projects carried out through the main project be continued either by the same project or through the Department of Roads.

This is not the first time that locals have obstructed the construction of the tunnel. Since the beginning of the project, residents from both Dhading and Kathmandu districts have repeatedly disrupted the work. Locals have raised demands such as ensuring free drinking water even after the project is completed, providing fair compensation for damaged houses, and guaranteeing employment for people from the affected areas based on their qualifications and capabilities. It is in pursuit of these demands that they have been obstructing the construction.

The physical progress of the tunnel, which began on October 20, 2019, has reached 87%. The emergency tunnel is 2,557 meters long, while the main tunnel is 2,688 meters long. Currently, more than 10,000 vehicles travel daily through the Nagdhunga road section. The Japanese company, Hazama Ando Corporation, is carrying out the construction of the tunnel. The total contract value of the project is 22 billion rupees, which includes a concessional loan of 16.5 billion rupees from Japan and an investment of 6 billion rupees from the Nepalese government.

Source: Kantipur