Bitumen Shortage Halts Nagdhunga-Mugling Road Construction

Kathmandu. The construction of the Nagdhunga-Mugling road has been halted due to a shortage of bitumen, which is essential for blacktopping the road.

Gyanendra Ghimire, a representative of the construction company Jiangsu Sagun JV, stated that work had to be stopped because of a global bitumen shortage caused by tensions in the Middle East during the peak construction season. Ghimire noted that suppliers are canceling orders, citing an extreme scarcity in the international market.

The final blacktopping of a 6-kilometer stretch of the Nagdhunga-Naubise section, which is in its final phase of construction, has already been completed. Ghimire explained that work on the remaining 6 kilometers has been stalled during the third and final layer of blacktopping.

He stated that approximately 530 tons of bitumen are required to complete the blacktopping of the remaining 6 kilometers of the 12.2-kilometer Nagdhunga-Naubise road. He added that if the necessary bitumen is made available immediately, the final blacktopping of this section could be completed within 10 days.

Keshav Ojha, Chief of the Nagdhunga-Mugling Road Project (Eastern Section), confirmed that contractors have informed the government that blacktopping work cannot proceed due to the bitumen shortage. Ojha also mentioned that the quota system imposed by the Nepal Oil Corporation on petroleum products has made it difficult to obtain sufficient diesel and petrol from pumps to operate the project's machinery and equipment.

To date, the physical progress of the Nagdhunga-Naubise road section stands at 88 percent, with financial progress at 82 percent. The project is directly impacted by the petroleum shortage in the market.

This road, which falls under the Tribhuvan Highway, is being constructed with loan assistance from the World Bank.