Six years after work began, only 74 percent of the upgrading of the Butwal-Narayanghat section of the East-West Highway has been completed. This confirms that the project will not be finished this year either. Officials at the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport (MoPIT) remain hopeful that the remaining work can be completed next year.

According to Joint Secretary Chudaram Dhakal, who is head of the ADB Project Directorate at the ministry, overall progress has reached 74 percent, while the most challenging Daunne stretch has seen only about 50 percent progress.

In July, the Department of Roads (DoR) extended the contract deadline for the fourth time - setting the final deadline for the western segment at July 21, 2026, and for the eastern segment at July 23, 2026. Dhakal said he is confident the project will be completed within this new timeframe. “This is the final deadline. The work must be completed within it. After 70 percent progress, contractors generally do not back away, so we believe it will be finished on time,” he said.

The road has been divided into two segments. The previous deadlines expired in mid-July - the eastern segment on July 22 and the western segment on July 28. The ministry extended the contract by one more year, but passengers travelling through the Daunne section are expected to face at least another year of difficulty. Daunne is the most disorderly stretch along the Butwal-Narayanghat corridor. Although only 14 km long, vehicles often take one to two hours to pass through. This stretch has also been split into two parts.

Of the Daunne section, 4 km falls under the eastern segment and the remaining 10 km under the western segment. Ministry sources said the contractor agreed to the time extension on the condition that no additional claims or compensation would be sought.

A senior ministry official said terminating the contract midway to bring in a new contractor would have created more complications and prolonged the process. “Replacing the contractor would cause far bigger delays. That is why we had no option but to extend the deadline,” the official said.

The contractor has argued that work was halted for almost three years due to COVID-19. “If we terminate the contract, the contractor will claim three years of compensation, which would complicate things further,” another official noted. The project was originally contracted to China State Construction Engineering for Rs 17.02 billion on December 19, 2018. Under the third extension, the work was supposed to be completed by July 23, 2025. When that deadline was missed, the fourth extension was granted.

The 113-km stretch is divided into a 64.425-km eastern segment and a 48.535-km western segment. The project is being implemented by the ADB Directorate under the Department of Roads with financial support from the Asian Development Bank.

A senior DoR official said the project’s delays were caused both by the contractor’s slow pace and weaknesses within the department. “Site clearance was not completed on time, and the contractor faced difficulties securing tree-cutting permits. Shifting electricity poles also took longer than expected. On top of that, they struggled to obtain construction materials because local governments restricted extraction. The DoR should have coordinated better with the contractor and local bodies,” the official said.

Night-time construction underway

Road expansion work in Gaindakot is now being carried out only at night. About 170 metres of road west of the Narayani bridge still remains to be blacktopped. According to the project office, work currently takes place from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. every day. Officials said night-time work was adopted to avoid heavy daytime traffic and prolonged congestion. “Daytime work creates long queues of vehicles, so we shifted the work to night-time hours,” an official said.

Except for the Gaindakot area and the Daunne hill stretch, one-way blacktopping on the eastern segment has already been completed. Under the expansion plan, 100 km of the road will be widened to four lanes, while the 14-km Daunne section will be widened to three lanes due to geographical constraints. The DoR said two additional service lanes will be built on both the northern and southern sides in urban areas.

By Bhuwan Sharma