The contract for the construction of the approximately 723-metre-long Kankai Bridge connecting Jhapa Rural Municipality-2 and Gaurigunj Rural Municipality-1 along the Postal Highway, which had remained abandoned for 14 years, has been terminated.

The Postal Highway Planning Office, Itahari, under the Postal Highway Directorate of the Department of Roads, issued a public notice on Thursday terminating the contract agreement with Pappu Mahadev Khimti Joint Venture (JV) for the construction of the bridge.

A contract agreement had been signed with Pappu Mahadev Khimti Joint Venture on June 14, 2011, to construct the concrete bridge under a design-and-build model.

The construction was supposed to be completed by June 13, 2015, and the contract was extended five times, but the progress has reached only about 56 per cent.

The contract amount was Rs. 349 million including tax. The performance bond of Rs. 17.1 million of the contractor whose contract has been cancelled will also be forfeited.

On October 17, 2025, the Planning Office in Itahari had asked the contractor to submit an explanation withing 15 days why the contract should not be terminated.

Yubaraj Pokharel, Chief of the Postal Highway Planning Office, Itahari, said that the contract was cancelled as per the provisions of the Public Procurement Act because the explanation submitted by the contractor was not satisfactory. It is alleged that the contractor violated the contract agreement by showing no interest in completing the construction work, despite repeated written and verbal requests on various dates.

It has been stated that, as per the Act, the performance security amount will be confiscated, the amount required to complete the remaining work will be recovered as government dues, and the contractor has been recommended for blacklisting.

The contractor has been asked to appear at the office within 15 days to evaluate the work completed so far, assess the remaining work, and settle financial matters. If the construction firm does not appear, the office will carry out the measurements on its own, the notice read.

Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Kul Man Ghising had conducted an on-site inspection on October 12 and assured locals that the government would take a decision regarding the bridge construction.

Local residents had demanded for immediate completion of the project, saying the lack of a bridge had caused hardship and negatively affected business, trade, and tourism promotion.

Minister Ghising had also instructed subordinate bodies to terminate non-performing contracts to end the trend of taking projects but failing to work, leaving them stranded.

The contractor had worked until 2019. However, after errors were identified in the construction, a technical test was conducted.

Some corrective work was carried out by the contractor as per the findings of the technical test. The contract expired in 2023.

As per the latest amendment to the Public Procurement Regulations, the contractor applied for another deadline extension, but it was not granted because it failed to provide evidence showing that the work would be completed.

Of the 19 spans of the bridge, eight have been completed, while beams have been installed on two of the remaining 11. The foundations of six spans have been laid, while the foundations of the remaining three are yet to be completed.