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Nepal's Terai-Madhesh Expressway, commonly known as the Fast Track, remains far behind schedule, with less than half of the project completed eight years after construction began. The estimated cost has also ballooned to more than two and a half times the original projection.

The 70.977-kilometer expressway, designed to provide the shortest road link between Kathmandu and the Tarai, is one of Nepal's most ambitious infrastructure projects. Construction was formally launched on May 28, 2017, by then Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, with a target of completing the four-lane highway within four years.

The Nepal Army, which is leading the project, was expected to open the expressway by 2023. So far, however, physical progress stands at just 48.12 percent, while financial progress has reached 48.69 percent.

Project authorities have blamed delays on the late completion of the detailed project report, design revisions, tunnel studies, bridge engineering, and geological investigations. Obstruction by local residents, particularly in Khokana, the project's starting point in Lalitpur, has also slowed construction.

Nepal Army spokesperson Brigadier General Rajaram Basnet said the project gained momentum after the army took over construction. He argued that the expressway is a mega infrastructure project that cannot be compared with other road projects.

According to Basnet, work on the project's complex tunnels, bridges, and retaining walls has reached its final stages, adding that construction will be completed within a short period.

Built to Asian Highway standards, the expressway includes 11.21 kilometers of tunnels at seven locations. The army says 7.02 kilometers of tunnel have already been completed, while breakthrough of another 3.4-kilometer tunnel is expected by the end of the current Nepali month.

The project includes tunnels at Devichaur, Sisautar, Chandram Bhir, Mahadev Danda, Len Danda, Mauribhir, and another designated site.

A total of 89 bridges are planned along the route. Of these, bridge superstructures have been completed at 16 locations. Foundation work has been finished at 57 sites, while substructure work has been completed at 38 locations.

Road construction is underway across a 4- kilometer stretch, and seven kilometers of service roads have already been blacktopped.

The project's original estimated cost was around Rs 85 billion. The latest revised estimate exceeds Rs 213 billion.

The expressway will feature three interchanges at Khokana, Budune, and Nijgadh, three toll plazas at Bungamati, Budune, and Nijgadh, and two rest areas.

According to the Nepal Army, construction is currently underway across 65 kilometers through 11 work clusters. More than 55,300 trees have been felled to facilitate the project.

The revised target is to complete construction by mid-March 2027. The government had initially allocated Rs 10 billion for the project in the 2016-17 fiscal year.

Although the expressway was originally scheduled for completion within four years of its inauguration, current progress raises doubts about whether even the revised deadline can be met.

The biggest hurdle remains the Khokana and Bungamati section, where local residents have repeatedly obstructed work over concerns related to land acquisition, compensation, and the protection of cultural heritage.

Once completed, the expressway will pass through Khokana, Jwalakhel and Dakshinkali in the Kathmandu Valley, Panchkanya, Gadhi and Dhiyal in Makwanpur, and Bharatpuri and Lal in Bara before connecting with the East West Highway at Lamagadhi in Nijgadh.

By Upendra Yadav