Suryabinayak-Dhulikhel Road Expansion Faces Delays Due to Bitumen Shortage and Price Hikes

Kathmandu. The Suryabinayak-Dhulikhel road expansion under the Arniko Highway is currently underway. The road is being expanded from two lanes to six lanes (four main lanes and two service lanes), divided into two sections. The first section (Suryabinayak-Sanga) has achieved 48 percent physical progress, while the second section (Sanga-Dhulikhel) has reached 68 percent.

The project, which began in 2079 BS, claims it could not be completed within the stipulated deadline due to a lack of budget. The deadline has now been extended, and work is ongoing. While the government has started providing the budget, the project notes that challenges remain due to rising fuel and construction material costs caused by the conflict in West Asia.

Bitumen Shortage and Price Hikes Impact Work

Although the budget issue has been partially resolved, the project is facing new challenges due to inflation and raw material shortages. Project Chief Bijay Kumar Mahato told Ratopati that the rise in fuel prices due to the conflict between the US, Israel, and Iran has made it difficult to procure bitumen, which is essential for road construction.

Recently, the shortage of bitumen and the rise in construction material prices have hindered progress. Project Chief Mahato said, 'The price of bitumen, which used to be 80 rupees, has now reached 135 rupees. Not only has the price increased, but it is also difficult to find. This has increased construction costs and slowed down the pace of work.'

According to Mahato, with the rise in petroleum prices in the international market, the price of bitumen has increased from 80 rupees to 135 rupees per liter. Additionally, the increase in transportation costs has affected the expansion work.

1 Billion Budget Needed for Current Year

Previously, the project faced payment issues, which delayed the road expansion. Mahato informed that there is currently no shortage of budget, and additional funds are in the process of being released by the Ministry of Finance.

The Ministry of Finance has recently provided 200 million rupees for this project. This amount was released with the goal of completing the first layer of blacktopping on the 15.8-kilometer road section within the current fiscal year. However, it is estimated that about 1 billion rupees will be needed for the project within the current fiscal year (before the end of Ashad).

According to Project Chief Mahato, work worth 150 million rupees has been completed so far. He stated that efforts are being made through the Department of Roads for additional budget. Although the project requested 3 billion rupees for the current year, only 700 million rupees were allocated for roads and bridges.

How Much Has Been Built?

The Suryabinayak-Dhulikhel road expansion project has achieved 48 percent physical progress in the first section (Suryabinayak-Sanga) and 68 percent in the second section (Sanga-Dhulikhel). The total 15.8-kilometer road section has reached approximately 60 percent overall physical progress.

The first section, Suryabinayak-Sanga, is 7.5 kilometers long. Undertaken by Ashish-Kumar Shrestha-Bandhan Bhagwati JV, this section has only 48 percent progress. The contract was signed for 3.8893 billion rupees. Currently, preparations to blacktop about 2 kilometers of this section are in the final stages. The deadline for this section, which began on 2079 Poush 24, has been extended to 2083 Phagun 29.

Similarly, the second section, Sanga-Dhulikhel, is 8.3 kilometers long. Undertaken by Lama Construction on 2079 Mangsir 27, this section has reached 68 percent physical progress. In this section, 3 kilometers of six-lane road and 2.5 kilometers in other areas have already been blacktopped. The deadline for this section, costing 4.0564 billion rupees, has been extended to 2083 Mangsir 23.

The plan is to blacktop this road in two phases (DBM and Wearing Course). In the second section, 3 kilometers of the six-lane road have been blacktopped in the first phase, while preparations to start blacktopping in the 2-kilometer Suryabinayak area are underway, though the project cites shortages as a constraint.

Additionally, the underpass under construction in Sanga is set to come into operation within the next month. According to Project Chief Mahato, 60 percent of the underpass work has been completed. Preparations are underway to complete the remaining work within a month and open it for traffic. He mentioned that once the underpass is operational, the road expansion work in the Sanga uphill area will proceed.

What is the Status of Bridge Construction?

Construction of three bridges under the project is also ongoing, with 12 percent progress so far. The progress of all three bridges being built at Jagati, Punyamata, and Mahadev Khola is minimal. Among these bridges, contracted by Himdung and Thokar-Ramjanaki JV for 575 million rupees, only 12 percent of the work on the Mahadev Khola bridge has been completed.

Construction of the Jagati and Punyamata bridges has just begun after some changes to the initial design. These bridges, being built using 'Design and Build' technology, have a deadline of 2083 Mangsir 5. Delays in bridge construction appear to pose a challenge to the project's completion.

The project also stated that the process of removing about five houses and huts in the Sanga and Banepa areas is ongoing. Similarly, 85 percent of the work to remove electricity poles in the path of the road expansion has been completed, with 15 percent remaining. The project stated that although some houses and huts in the Sanga and Banepa areas remain to be removed, the work will not be completely stopped because of this. Once this road expansion is completed, traffic movement between Kavre and Bhaktapur is expected to become much easier and faster.