Major infrastructure projects have seen little government spending and physical progress in the first half of the current fiscal year 2013-14. The slow pace indicates that the government will not be able to meet the targets set in the policy and programmes, said officials of the Roads Department.

The development modality of the Kathmandu-Tarai Fast Track, despite being listed as a national priority project, remains undecided. Meanwhile, the Mid-Hill Highway, where track opening was expected to co-mplete two months ago, is still struggling to open 3.5 km of track in the western section. Likewise, only two bridges out of the targeted 20 have been completed on the proposed Postal Road. 

After potential Indian developers walked away from the Fast Track project in Sept last year, the government has been in a fix whether to re-invite foreign investors, spend its own money or involve donors. 

Department officials said the government was mulling building at its own expense a two-lane road instead of four-lane as originally planned. The project has been given a budget allocation of Rs 500 million this year, but the money has remained unused.  

The government has planned to blacktop 14.5 km and complete 5 km of track opening on the Mid-Hill Highway in the current fiscal year. Track opening has been completed on 1.5 km as of the first half of the year. The Roads Department said that it hoped to complete track opening work within a month. The government has provided Rs 1.92 billion to the project. Department officials said projects had made little progress mainly because construction contracts were signed only after the first trimester (mid-July to mid-November).  

The Postal Road project has spent 13.60 percent of the total Rs 2.21 billion allocated for the current fiscal year. Similarly, other infrastructure projects including the trade route and Narayanghat-Mugling road improvement have fallen behind schedule. According to the department’s report on progress during the first half, the North-South Corr-idor project consisting of the Koshi, Kali Gandaki and Karnali highways has ope-ned 29 km of track against the annual target of 73 km. 

The department’s report shows that it spent Rs 12.98 billion during the review period against the allocation of Rs 32 billon for the current fiscal year. “The slow progress is also the result of obstacles created by locals and other government bodies at the project sites,” said Arjun Jung Thapa, deputy director general of the department. 

The Postal Road project has been facing difficulties on the 52-km Birgunj-Thori, 62-km Dhangadhi-Sati and 30-km Maisthan-Samsi sections. Thapa said that Chitwan National Park had not allowed the existing alignment of the Birgunj-Thori section to be upgraded citing of lack of an environmental impact assessment (EIA). “Since we have already conducted an initial environmental examination (IEE), an EIA is not necessary for upgrading the existing road,” he added. 

Similarly, work on the Dhangadhi-Sati section has been stalled for the last two years as it passes through the Basanta Ban area and a community forest. The Sagar Nath Forest Project in Mahottari has also not allowed the Masala trees on the path of the road to be cut down, affecting the project’s progress, said the department. 

Regarding the Mid-Hill Highway, locals have obstructed track opening in Jajarkot while track improvement on the 10-km Ghurmi-Chatara section has not happened as the project has not been given permission to cut down trees on the way.