Khadbari-Kimathanka Road Section Upgraded

Sankhuwasabha. The Khadbari-Kimathanka road section (10.8 km out of 162 km) has been completed with 'track open' and upgrading work in necessary places. The road, which is a national pride project, connects the northern part of Sankhuwasabha. The work, which is geographically very difficult and hard to do, has been completed by the Nepali Army. Shamsher Singh, Chief of the Khadbari-Kimathanka Road Project, informed that the track opening and upgrading work in 10.8 km of the Khadbari-Kimathanka road, which is part of the North-South Koshi Highway, has been completed. The army was given the responsibility of constructing 10.8 km of the 162 km Khadbari-Kimathanka road section. Due to hard rocks and geographical difficulties, the army transported construction materials by helicopter to carry out the road construction work. This year, the army has completed the work of opening the track of 2 km and 21 decimal of the road section. Project Chief Shamsher Singh informed that 4 km and 31 decimal of the road section has been upgraded. Upon completion of the road construction, the army is preparing to hand it over to the North-South Koshi Road Project. The Kimathanka pass in the northern region is considered a remote area geographically. The Khadbari to Kimathanka road section under the Koshi Highway, which connects to China via Kimathanka, has already seen a 'breakthrough' on January 28, 2025. Last year, 6 km and 6 decimal of the Khadbari-Kimathanka road section had been upgraded. Rs 7 crore was allocated for the upgrading of the Khadbari-Kimathanka road. This year, the army has also removed landslides that have occurred in various places on the road where 'track open' and upgrading have been completed. The Kimathanka-Jogbani section is considered the shortest road connecting neighboring countries China and India. As explosives are needed to break hard rocks, the Council of Ministers meeting on September 8, 2019, gave the responsibility of road construction to the army. 140 personnel were mobilized daily for road construction. Sankhuwasabha, Dhankuta, Tehrathum, Sunsari, Morang, Jhapa, and Bhojpur residents of Koshi Province will directly benefit once the Kimathanka-Jogbani road section is operational. Locals expect that trade and business will also expand in this region with the expansion of the road. Locals have demanded that a customs office should be established at the border once the road is operational. The project office has stated that Rs 62 crore 36 lakh 67 thousand has been spent so far on the construction of the Khadbari-Kimathanka road.