The government remains undecided on a proposal to relocate the toll plaza of the Kathmandu-Tarai Expressway to Pharsidol, leaving construction work in the Khokana section of Lalitpur stalled. The lack of a formal decision has halted all activities in the disputed stretch, even as progress continues in other sections of the national pride project.

Although authorities had earlier proposed proceeding with construction in other segments while setting aside the 3.2-kilometre disputed starting point in Khokana, the required revision of the Detailed Project Report (DPR) has yet to be approved. As a result, the project office continues to wait for a Cabinet decision before moving ahead with the revised alignment.

During the premiership of Sushila Karki, the Ministry of Defence had forwarded a proposal to the Council of Ministers seeking approval to shift the toll plaza. However, the Cabinet did not take a decision at the time. With the change in government following the March 5 elections, the proposal was returned without a resolution, in line with administrative practice.

Kedar Nath Sharma, secretary at the Ministry of Defence, said the ministry is currently engaged in internal discussions on resubmitting the proposal to the present Cabinet. “The proposal was not decided upon when it was first submitted. After the formation of a new government, undecided proposals are returned to the concerned ministries,” Sharma said. “We are now reviewing the matter before resubmitting it.”

The impasse over Khokana has persisted for years, primarily due to disputes related to land acquisition and local opposition. In an attempt to break the deadlock, the then prime minister, on February 17, directed officials to consider an alternative alignment. Under this plan, the toll plaza—the main facility for collecting user charges—would be relocated to Pharsidol, around 3.3 kilometres from the originally designated site in Khokana.

However, implementing the change requires formal Cabinet approval to amend the DPR. The current DPR draft proposes the construction of a concrete bridge linking Dukuchhap and Pharsidol to support the revised alignment.

The Nepal Army, which is overseeing the project, has already prepared a revised DPR and submitted it to the Ministry of Defence. Brigadier General Rajaram Basnet, spokesperson for the Army, said there would be no technical obstacles to starting work once the Cabinet approves the amendment.

According to the Army, the DPR prepared in 2019 had already identified Pharsidol as the location for the toll plaza. The revised plan retains this location and includes the development of link roads to facilitate access for local residents.

The Kathmandu-Tarai Expressway, also known as the fast track, was handed over to the Nepal Army by the Council of Ministers on May 4, 2017. The Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport formally transferred the project on August 11 the same year.

The expressway spans 70.977 kilometres, connecting Kathmandu with Nijgadh in Bara. Of the total length, 10.901 kilometres consist of tunnels, while bridges account for 12.885 kilometres. The project has been divided into 13 construction packages.

So far, contracts have been awarded and work is underway in packages 1 through 7, as well as 8A and 8B, 9A and 9B, and package 10. However, package 11, which covers the Khokana–Dukuchhap section, remains stalled due to unresolved issues related to land acquisition and the pending DPR revision.

Overall physical progress of the project has reached 46.88 percent, according to the Army. Construction is advancing in segments where contracts have been finalised, particularly in tunnel excavation, bridge construction and roadworks.

Work is progressing at several tunnel sites along the alignment. A total of seven tunnels are being built, each comprising two parallel tubes—one for traffic travelling from Kathmandu to Nijgadh and the other for vehicles heading in the opposite direction.

The Mahadevtar tunnel, one of the project’s major components, is nearing a key milestone. Preparations are under way to achieve a breakthrough in the left tube of the 3,355-metre tunnel by mid-July. So far, 2,921 metres have been excavated in the left tube and 2,467 metres in the right tube.

The contract for the Mahadevtar tunnel has been awarded to China State Construction Engineering Corporation. Project officials said the contractor’s performance had remained slow for nearly a year and a half, delaying progress. However, work picked up pace after the project office warned of possible contract termination.

At other tunnel sites, progress varies. Breakthroughs have already been achieved at the Dhedre and Lendanda tunnels, where finishing works are currently under way. Excavation and structural work continue at the Chandram Bhir, Devichaur and Sishautar tunnels. Work on the portal of the Mauri Bhir tunnel is also ongoing.

Bridge construction is another major component of the project. The expressway includes 89 special bridges, many of which are located in difficult terrain. Foundation work has been completed at 56 sites, substructure work at 38, and superstructure work at 16. Construction is currently under way at 85 bridge sites where contracts have been awarded.

However, four bridges located in the Khokana section remain stalled due to the ongoing dispute and lack of a final decision on the alignment.

In terms of road construction, 11.2 kilometres of sub-base work and 5.5 kilometres of base preparation have been completed. However, only 0.2 kilometres of the road has been blacktopped so far.

The Army had set a target to blacktop six kilometres in the current fiscal year, but progress has been hindered by a shortage of bitumen. Despite this, work on the toll plaza and interchange in the Nijgadh area is continuing as planned.

The project has already spent Rs85.14 billion, including costs related to land acquisition and advances provided to the Nepal Electricity Authority. The overall estimated cost of the project, including value-added tax, stands at Rs211.93 billion.

The current deadline for completion is March 2027. However, officials acknowledge that delays in decision-making, particularly regarding the DPR, have affected the project timeline.

The Army maintains that delays in the initial approval of the DPR prevented it from starting work immediately after taking over responsibility for the project. The DPR process began on October 2, 2018, was completed on January 24, 2019, and received Cabinet approval on August 18, 2019.

Contracts for packages 1 through 7 were awarded between May 2021 and January 2023. The DPR has since undergone two amendments—on August 15, 2023, and November 10, 2024—to address technical and implementation challenges.

Among the notable engineering features of the project are the structures at Dhedre and Lendanda, where four parallel bridges have been constructed at the tunnel entrances. These bridges rise to heights of up to 82 metres.

At the entrance to the Dhedre tunnel, parallel bridges spanning 300 metres have been built over the Jitpur Khola. Similarly, bridges spanning the Chalise Khola near the Lendanda tunnel extend up to 339 metres.

Despite progress in several sections, the unresolved issue in Khokana remains a major bottleneck. The proposed relocation of the toll plaza to Pharsidol is seen as a potential solution, but without a Cabinet decision to amend the DPR, construction in the affected stretch cannot proceed.

As the project moves into its final phase, officials say resolving the Khokana dispute and finalising the DPR revision will be critical to completing the expressway, widely viewed as a strategic link connecting the Capital with the southern plains.