If the construction companies had carried out the work as per the project agreement, the work to widen the Anbukhaireni-Pokhara section of the Prithvi Highway would have been completed by now. But the road widening project is nowhere near completion mainly due to contractors’ lethargy and the government’s delay in clearing the roadside structures and trees.

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).

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 Rs 6.21 billion. As per 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 of the Anbukhaireni-Jamune road section has been extended to February 13, 2025,” said Bishnu Prasad Pandey, an engineer at the eastern section of Muglin-Pokhara Road Project. According to him, the Anbukhaireni-Jamune road section has around 68 percent physical progress and around 50 percent financial progress as of now.

Likewise, 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-December this year to complete the project and now the deadline has been extended to mid-November. But still work on the section is nowhere near completion.

“The contractor has already moved forward with its process to extend the project deadline for the second time,” said Narayan Paudel, an engineer at the western section of Muglin-Pokhara Road Project. According to him, the physical progress of the Jamune-Pokhara section is just 31 percent as of now. “Around 21 km of road has been blacktopped in the Jamune-Pokhara section so far. There is no alternative to extending the project deadline as it is not possible to complete the remaining work within a month and a half,” said Paudel.

Preparations are on to blacktop the Dulegauda stretch while construction of roadside drainage is going on along the Kotre stretch of Jamune-Pokhara section. Under the road widening project in the section, five major bridges including one over the Seti river and eight small bridges are under construction. “Construction of nine different bridges has been completed while around 27 percent physical work has been completed on Seti bridge so far,” said Paudel.

The contractors argue that the Covid pandemic, demolition of various roadside structures and cutting down trees delayed the work. Paudel also points out the delay in removing pipes of drinking water projects, and electricity poles from the roadside stymied the construction work resulting in the delay. “The construction company has been blacktopping the road sections where there are no obstructions,” added Paudel.

In the Anbukhaireni-Jamune road section, around 34 km of road has been blacktopped so far. “A 29-km stretch has been blacktopped in four lanes while five kilometres blacktopped in two lanes. The construction work was slowed during the monsoon season. The work will gather momentum soon after Tihar (a Hindu festival that falls from October 31 to November 4 this year),” said Pandey. According to him, the construction of 13 small bridges has been completed while work on three major bridges is underway.

The delay in road-widening work along the Anbukhaireni-Pokhara section has affected the local residents. Mainly the locals including traders on the roadside are greatly affected. “The local people living near and along the road line are hugely impacted by dust. Business activities have been badly affected as people hesitate to visit the dusty areas,” said Baikuntha Nath Mishra, chairman of the Tanahun Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

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.

An important section of the Prithvi Highway and lifeline of the Gandaki Province, the Muglin-Pokhara road section is 88 km, 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 albeit 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.