Kathmandu, June 22: Construction of underpasses at Satdobato and Ekantakuna, two of the most traffic-congested intersections in the Kathmandu Valley, is set to begin in the upcoming fiscal year. A budget of Rs. 124.6 million has been allocated for the project. Feasibility studies for both locations have already been completed, confirming that underpasses will be built at the two sites.
The government has been announcing plans since the fiscal year 2022/23 budget to construct overpasses or flyovers at Gwarko, Satdobato, and Ekantakuna. However, apart from the overpass at Gwarko, no such structures have yet been built elsewhere. Studies for Satdobato and Ekantakuna have now been completed with a proposal to construct underpasses similar to the one at Kalanki.
According to the study, the underpass at Satdobato will be 540.78 meters long. It is planned along the lines of the Kalanki underpass and is estimated to cost Rs. 720 million. The Department of Roads has stated that the underpass will have four lanes.
A similar study has been conducted for Ekantakuna, where an underpass measuring 300 meters in length is proposed. The estimated construction cost is Rs. 500 million.
The Quality, Research and Development Center has stated that contracts for both projects will be awarded under the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) model. The Department of Roads had initially planned to begin construction during the current fiscal year, but the work could not proceed due to a lack of budget.
Rajesh Prasad Poudel, Director of the Quality, Research and Development Center, said that construction work on both sections will move forward from the next fiscal year.
“The budget allocated for the Gwarko overpass is intended for minor maintenance work, for which Rs. 2 million has been set aside,” he said. “We will proceed with tendering for the Ekantakuna and Satdobato projects. The total estimated cost is around Rs. 1.5 billion.”
The construction period is expected to be four years. Since the projects cannot be completed within a single fiscal year, the work will proceed after obtaining a multi-year funding commitment from the Ministry of Finance, Poudel added.
He also said that construction activities would be carried out in a manner that minimizes disruption to traffic.
“We learned many lessons from the construction of the Gwarko overpass. Before awarding the contracts, we will complete all necessary preparations to ensure timely completion,” he said. “We will coordinate with all concerned stakeholders and adopt appropriate measures so that traffic movement is not severely disrupted during construction.”
People’s News Monitoring Service.
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