Gandaki Province Allocates Nearly One-Third of Budget to Infrastructure and Transport

Pokhara. Gandaki Province government has allocated nearly one-third of the total budget to the physical infrastructure development and transport sector for the upcoming fiscal year. A budget of 11.66 billion rupees has been allocated for the next year.

Finance Minister Jit Bahadur Sherchan informed that this budget has been allocated targeting the strengthening of the provincial road network, ensuring year-round transportation, and digital improvement of the transport sector.

The government has allocated 5.03 billion rupees for projects with multi-year source assurance for the construction of strategic roads and bridges in the province. Similarly, Sherchan stated that a feasibility study will be conducted for the construction of a provincial express highway in collaboration with the private sector from Pokhara to Butwal.

An amount of 1.10 billion rupees has been set aside for the construction of major provincial roads including the Korala-Triveni, Shaligram Corridor, Tanahun's Jhaputar-Kahun Motorway, Syangja's Jagdi Corridor, Myagdi and Baglung's Darbang Corridor, and Gorkha's Chuwandanda-Pelchet road. 77.2 million rupees have been set aside for the blacktopping of rural roads including Gorkha's Abua-Khari-Serabazar, Parbat's Patichaur-Bajung, and Kaski's Bhattekhola-Dhampus.

12 million rupees have been allocated for the construction of Bailey bridges to ensure year-round transportation on the road network and to facilitate transportation in risky areas. The provincial government has arranged for service recipients who cannot be present at the transport office to renew their driving licenses online from home.

Similarly, 50 million rupees have been allocated to arrange for the printing of smart licenses from the provincial level. Ride-sharing services are claimed to be brought into the legal and institutional framework for regulation and effective operation. The government has stated that these arrangements and budget allocations in transport infrastructure and service systems will contribute to making the province's economic activities and citizens' lives easier.