Seventeen years after construction began, the much-hyped Mahakali Corridor—envisioned to link Brahmadev in Kanchanpur district with Tinkar on the Nepal-China border in Darchula district—remains far from completion. The road project, frequently touted as a key regional lifeline, continues to be mired in funding shortages and administrative bottlenecks.

According to the Mahakali Corridor Project Office, of the 334 kilometres from Brahmadev to Tusharpani of Darchula, only 50.5-kilometre stretch of the track has been opened so far. “About 49.5 kilometres still remains to be opened,” said acting project chief Ram Chandra Jaisi. “Track opening has yet to be completed in 26.6 kilometres in Dadeldhura, 5.1 kilometres in Baitadi, and 17.8 kilometres in Darchula.”

The project was designed to build the 334-kilometres section up to Tusharpani, while the Nepali Army has been constructing the remaining 79-kilometre stretch from Tusharpani to Tinkar. The breakdown of work allocation shows 11 kilometres in Kanchanpur, 58 in Dadeldhura, 144 in Baitadi, and 121 in Darchula.

Jaisi said the project is now in crisis due to both lack of funds and the absence of key personnel. “Even staff salaries for Asoj (mid-September to mid-October) have not been paid,” he said. “We are unable to clear contractor payments either because financial authority has not been delegated after the transfer of the former project chief in September.”

The budget crunch has delayed payments to contractors working on various segments. “The Department of Roads has given me acting responsibility, but not financial authority,” Jaisi explained. As a result, progress on several multi-year contracts—ranging from track opening to blacktopping—has been hit.

Currently, construction is ongoing on several sections, including the 8.5-kilometre stretch from Ringnetal to Chilleghad and the 10-kilometre road from Chilleghad to Dhaulakot in Darchula. Similarly, blacktopping work is underway on a 12.3-kilometre section from Saleti to Beta. “We have ongoing multi-year contracts for track opening, upgrading, and blacktopping,” Jaisi said. “But no new contracts can be issued until the budget situation improves.”

For the current fiscal year, the project received Rs229.7 million. “More than Rs15 million was used to settle last year’s dues, and no construction payment has been made since mid-September,” Jaisi said.

The Mahakali Corridor Project was formally launched in fiscal year 2008-09, building on earlier efforts to connect Khalanga to Tinkar under the Darchula-Tinkar Road Project. The total estimated cost stands at Rs18.16 billion, of which only Rs 3.68 billion has been spent so far. Ongoing contracts worth Rs 1.39 billion remain unpaid.

Despite being promised again and again by leaders from all major political parties, the project has been painfully slow progress. Every election season, politicians pledge to turn the corridor into a vital trade route connecting Nepal’s far-west with China through the planned Dry Port at Dodhara Chandani, but budget allocations tell a different story.

Experts and local observers say that at the current pace, completion could take another decade. Only about 10 kilometres of the road have been blacktopped so far, and several sections still remain impassable.

Local residents, once hopeful, now express deep frustrations about the delayed construction work. “Every election, they say this road will change our fortunes,” said a local resident. “But even after 15 years, we still don’t have a proper track. It feels like they just use this road to win votes.”

Officials admit the repeated delays have eroded public trust. “Work was once halted because of delays in tree-felling permits,” Jaisi said. “Now, the main obstacle is budget.”