By Our Reporter
The Kathmandu Tarai/Madhesh Fast Track was supposed to be fast not only in name, but also in construction. Nearly a decade after the Nepal Army took charge, that promise remains unfulfilled. The government has now pushed the completion deadline to April 2030, the third extension, while physical progress remains around halfway.
The cost tells an equally troubling story. An early estimate put the project at around Rs 85 billion. The revised estimate reached around Rs 213 billion, and another increase of up to Rs 20 billion is now projected. Cost revisions are understandable when designs change and construction prices rise. But repeated extensions inevitably add administrative, contractual and financing costs.
Why has a project managed by the Nepal Army moved so slowly? The answer cannot simply be that the Army lacks commitment. Much of the delay comes from problems that the Army alone cannot settle. The project entered the contract phase only in 2021, years after it was handed over to the Army. Land acquisition remains unresolved in Khokana, while environmental approvals, tree cutting and design changes have also held up construction.
The Khokana dispute has become particularly costly. Even in May, officials said the unresolved 6.5 kilometre section was a major obstacle. Now discussions about shifting the starting point from Khokana to Chobhar raise another question: why did it take nearly a decade to reach this point?
Engineering complexity also matters. This is not an ordinary highway. The route requires tunnels and dozens of bridges, including technically demanding structures in difficult terrain. But these challenges were broadly known from the beginning. A national pride project cannot operate through repeated improvisation.
Recent disasters have made completion far more urgent. When the Prithvi Highway was severely disrupted following the August floods, Kathmandu’s supply chain came under pressure. The capital remains heavily dependent on roads vulnerable to landslides, floods and congestion. The Fast Track would provide a much shorter connection to the Tarai and Nepal’s main import corridor through Birgunj.
The 2030 deadline therefore needs to become a hard-operational target, not another date waiting to be revised.
To achieve that, the government must first settle the Khokana and starting point questions quickly through negotiation, fair compensation and a final technical decision. Keeping the alignment unresolved while construction proceeds elsewhere only transfers today’s problem into tomorrow’s delay.
Second, responsibility must be clearly divided. The Army can manage construction, but ministries must deliver land, environmental clearances, budgets and policy decisions on schedule. A high-level coordination mechanism should track these issues monthly and make delays public.
Third, construction should be managed package by package with measurable milestones. Contractors falling behind without legitimate reasons should face contractual consequences, while decisions on genuine technical problems should not sit for months in government offices.
Finally, the government should explore opening completed sections, tunnels or usable connections in phases where technically and safely possible rather than waiting for every kilometre to be finished.
Nepal needs the Fast Track for more than convenience. Disasters repeatedly remind Kathmandu how fragile its road lifelines are. After three deadline extensions and a huge rise in cost, completing this alternative route has become a test of whether the state can finish what it starts
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