Asian Highway Construction Progresses: 35% Complete on Kakarbhitta-Laukahi Section

Morang. Construction has commenced on the 'Asian Highway,' aimed at connecting Asian nations via a road network, with approximately 35% of the work completed on the Kakarbhitta to Laukahi road section two years after its start.

Jagat Prajapati, Chief of the Western Section Itahari Office for the project, stated that the first phase of single-lane blacktopping began on Sunday from Padajhugi in Jhapa heading west. He informed that about 35% of the work has been completed in the two years since the construction agreement was signed.

According to Chief Prajapati, although the plan was to upgrade 120 kilometers of road from Kakarbhitta to Laukahi under Asian Highway No. 2, only 95.76 km of the road has been contracted and is currently under construction. He noted that the work is divided into two parts: the Eastern Section and the Western Section.

So far, the first phase of blacktopping has been completed on about 20 kilometers of the one-way road across both sections. Sunil Babu Pant, Chief of the Project's Eastern Section Damak Office, reported that about 35% of the work has also been completed in the Eastern Section.

Pant mentioned that the work will gain momentum if the availability of construction materials becomes easier. The project office indicated that about 80% of the work involving shifting electric poles in the Eastern Section is complete, while only about 40% of the work has been done in the Western Section. The office added that shifting poles in market areas remains pending. According to the office, the construction of large bridges in the Eastern Section has achieved 23% progress, while the Western Section shows 25% progress.

The Asian Highway will start from Bangkok, Thailand, and will connect through Myanmar, Bangladesh, and India, entering Nepal at Kakarbhitta, then proceeding via the East-West Highway to Delhi, India, and finally reaching Karachi, Pakistan. The road construction began on B.S. 2080 Magh 19 with the financial assistance of the Asian Development Bank, under a plan to complete the construction in three years.

This project is estimated to cost 300 million US dollars. The road, to be constructed in three categories, is divided into market areas, jungle areas, and rural areas. The road width will be 50 meters in market areas, 24 meters in jungle areas, and 33 meters in rural areas.