Seven years into construction, progress on the Madan Bhandari Highway, a national pride project, remains slow, with only 51 percent of the work completed so far. Around 1.5 kilometre length of the 120-kilometre Sindhulimadhi-Hetauda stretch has yet to be blacktopped due to land disputes and budget constraints.

The most critical bottleneck lies in that 1.5-kilometre section that remains unfinished despite the rest of the road being largely operational. More than half a dozen areas still face road-related problems along the Sindhuli-Hetauda section. While 85 kilometres of the highway fall under Sindhuli and 35 kilometres under Makawanpur, construction had stalled in Sindhuli part primarily due to land acquisition disputes during the initial phase of the project.

Although local residents have now agreed to allow construction, lack of sufficient funds has prevented the work from resuming. Consequently, this particular section remains in the same condition as it was before, with travelers needing to navigate through rough terrain for this short but crucial stretch. Beyond this unfinished portion, however, vehicles can smoothly travel on a fully paved two-lane road all the way to Hetauda, with little traffic congestion due to limited vehicle flow.

“Initially, there was a prolonged dispute between landowners and the construction company regarding road standards and compensation,” said Upendra Kumar Pokharel, mayor of Kamalamai Municipality in Sindhuli. “After reaching an agreement to build an 11-metre-wide road excluding the drainage system, most sections were completed, except for a few remaining spots. The contractor, Kalika Construction, handed over the completed portions to the Department of Roads, but work on the disputed section could not proceed further due to budget constraints.”

According to Pokharel, with the previous contract formally concluded and transferred, additional funds now need to be allocated before work can continue on the remaining stretch. “We’ve requested the necessary budget allocation and have already secured agreements with the locals,” he added. “However, citing financial shortages, the Department of Roads has yet to resume construction. We are pressing for the completion of the remaining work in the next fiscal year.”

Currently, road construction has not been completed at four locations within wards 4 and 6 of Kamalamai Municipality. Land acquisition disputes initially stymied the construction in these areas, leaving a 200-metre stretch at Dhuran-Siran in ward 6 unpaved. Additional unresolved sites include Dhakalgaun, Sangbale, Khattar, Marin, and Hariharpurgadhi, totalling approximately 1.5 kilometres.

The bridge at Gwangkhola, constructed in 2008, remains operational but deteriorated to the point where only one lane is operational and vehicles from both directions have to take turns to cross. The Road Division Office in Hetauda has requested funding to complete the remaining road work, but no allocation was made for the current fiscal year. “Preparations are underway to resubmit the request for the next fiscal year” said Guru Adhikari, chief of the road division office.

“There are currently no plans to reconstruct the Gwangkhola bridge, but we have sought approval to finish the remaining work. We are hopeful that a budget will be approved in the upcoming fiscal year, as we’ve already submitted our request to the department,” said Adhikari.

The 1,390 kilometre-long Madan Bhandari Highway, which stretches from Bhanundangi in Jhapa district to Rupal in Dadeldhura district, was approved by the Cabinet on May 20, 2018. The initial estimated cost of the project was Rs75 billion. A total of 740 kilometres fall under the jurisdiction of the Madan Bhandari Highway Project Directorate, while the remaining 650 kilometres have been managed by various other departments under the Department of Roads.

Despite seven years of work, only 365 kilometres of the 740 kilometres under the Directorate have been blacktopped, with a total expenditure of Rs38 billion so far. “The main obstacles to timely completion of the road project are the long process involved in getting tree felling permits and budget shortages,” said Deep Barahi, director of the Madan Bhandari Highway Project Directorate. "Due to budget constraints, we have not been able to proceed at the pace we initially anticipated."

The initial target was to complete the highway by fiscal year 2024-25, but with delays mounting, preparations are on to extend the project deadline until 2027-28. The project includes the construction of 185 bridges, out of which only 144 have been completed to date.

“Our biggest issue remains the budget shortfall. We requested Rs 6 billion for the next fiscal year but were allocated only Rs 2.51 billion,” said Barahi. “This inadequate funding makes it difficult to manage new contracts and maintain momentum,” he added. For the current fiscal year, the government had allocated Rs3.6 billion for the project.

According to engineers involved in the project, the highway was designed to run north of the East-West Highway and south of the Mid-hill Highway. “In many areas, disputes arose because the route passes through settlements, leading to disagreements over compensation and relocation,” said an engineer, adding “Since we couldn’t award contracts for the entire length simultaneously, some segments are fully completed while others have not even entered the contracting phase.”

Unless the financial bottlenecks are addressed soon, the completion of the Madan Bhandari Highway remains uncertain, raising concerns about the timely realisation of this national infrastructure project.