The government has extended the deadline of the western section of Anbukhaireni-Pokhara road expansion project for the second time.

The Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport extended the deadline of the Jamune-Pokhara section of the road project by December 30 next year.

“The contractor moved forward with its process to extend the project deadline stating that the Covid pandemic, demolition of various roadside structures, cutting down trees and removing pipes of drinking water projects delayed the work,” said Saujanya Nepal, engineer and information officer of the western section of Anbukhaireni-Pokhara road expansion project. “We also notified the ministry accordingly. The ministry has approved the deadline extention proposal.”

Work to widen the 80km-long Anbukhaireni-Pokhara section of the Prithvi Highway to four lanes is underway after dividing the road stretch into two sections—Anbukhaireni-Jamune (41km) and Jamune-Pokhara (39km).

The Project Directorate under the Department of Roads signed a contract for the construction of the western section of Jamune-Pokhara with the Chinese company Yanhui Kaiyun Highway and Bridge Construction at a cost of Rs7.4 billion in May, 2021. The construction company had until mid-September this year to complete the project and the deadline was extended to mid-November for the first time.

“The contractor has expressed its commitment to complete the project within the extended deadline this time,” Nepal said. According to him, the Jamune-Pokhara road section has around 35 percent physical progress and around 24 percent financial progress as of now. “Of the total 39 kilometres of the Jamune-Pokhara section, as much as 23.91 kilometres has been blacktopped in the first phase,” he added.

A total of 12 bridges—four major bridges and eight small ones—should be constructed in the Jamune-Pokhara section. Construction of nine different bridges has been completed while work on three major bridges over the Seti river, Bijayapur and Kotre streams is underway.

Likewise, road expansion work in the eastern section of Anbuukhaireni-Jamune is also slow. “The road expansion work along the Anbuukhaireni-Jamune has been delayed,” said Prakash Chnadra Bhandari, chief of eastern section of Anbuukhaireni-Jamune road expansion project. “The contractor complained that work has been disrupted over the delay in removing pipelines of several drinking water projects, shifting electricity lines and clearing the roadside physical infrastructures mainly in the marketplaces.”

Communication Construction, a Chinese company, had signed the contract for the construction of the eastern section of the Anbuukhaireni-Jamune road section in January, 2021 for Rs6.21 billion. According to the agreement, the contractor was supposed to complete the road project by May, 2024. The project was not completed within the set deadline. So the project agreement was extended to February 13, 2025. According to Bhandari, the Anbukhaireni-Jamune road section has around 71 percent physical progress and around 53 percent financial progress as of now.

“It is quite difficult to complete the work within the extended deadline. It seems that the project deadline should be extended in the Dumre, Damauli and Bimalnagar areas,” said Bhandari.

According to him, around 31 of a total 41 kilometres in the Anbuukhaireni-Jamune section has been blacktopped in four lanes while six kilometres of road has been blacktopped in two lanes. Construction of 13 bridges in the eastern section has been completed so far while three major bridges are under construction.

Prithvi Highway links two major cities—Kathmandu and Pokhara. It was built with Chinese assistance and was completed in 1974. One of the busiest highways in the country, it faces frequent traffic jams. The government decided to widen the existing two-lane highway to four lanes with loan assistance from the Asian Development Bank.

The delay in road-widening work along the Anbukhaireni-Pokhara section of Prithvi Highway has affected the local residents. Mainly the locals including traders on the roadside are greatly affected. Tourism entrepreneurs say that the delayed road construction work has greatly affected tourism in Pokhara, the country's major tourist destination.

An important section of the Prithvi Highway and lifeline of the Gandaki Province, the Muglin-Pokhara road section is 88-km long, out of which the Aanbukhaireni-Pokhara section covers 80 km.

Around 72km of the road section of the highway falls in Tanahun district.

The road widening work along the Muglin-Nagdhunga section is also underway but like elsewhere, it is also moving at a snail’s pace. However, the design for the 8-km Aanbukhaireni-Muglin section has yet to be finalised. The road project said that preparations are on to change the road alignment along the section due to the presence of the powerhouse of the Marsyangdi Hydropower Project.