Kathmandu’s long-awaited Ring Road widening project remains far from completion, with nearly 16 kilometres of roadway still unfinished eight years after work on the first section was completed.

The first phase of the project, covering the Koteshwar-Kalanki section, began in 2012 and was completed in 2018. However, progress on the remaining sections has been slow, leaving large stretches of the 27-kilometre ring road yet to be upgraded.

Only 11.09 kilometres of the Ring Road have been widened so far, while 15.91 kilometres remain in limbo.

Although the first phase was completed in 2018, the second phase did not move into implementation for another eight years, with Nepal and China signing the implementation agreement only in April 2026. Even now, construction has yet to start. Authorities are currently preparing to widen the road only up to an area near Basundhara Chowk.

Nepal and China signed a government-to-government agreement in 2018 to widen this section. However, the Chinese side insisted that preparatory work be completed before its team arrived. The Covid-19 pandemic further delayed implementation.

A roughly 600-metre stretch between Basundhara and Narayangopal Chowk remains particularly problematic due to difficulties in demolishing houses and other structures within the project area. Chinese officials had initially discussed widening the road from Kalanki to Narayangopal Chowk with Nepali authorities. But after encountering challenges related to land acquisition and the removal of buildings, China withdrew from that plan.

China later proposed limiting its involvement to the section from Kalanki to near the Basundhara culvert, and the current process has been based on that revised plan.

Although an implementation agreement for the second phase was signed on April 29, 2026, construction has yet to begin. The agreement was signed by Minister for Physical Infrastructure Development Sunil Lamsal and Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Zhang Maoming, with both sides expressing commitment to fast-track implementation.

According to the ministry, the Chinese government will provide approximately Rs11 billion in grant assistance for the project.

The Nepali Cabinet cleared another procedural hurdle on February 24 by approving customs and tax exemptions for construction materials related to the project.

Arjun Prasad Aryal, chief of the Development Cooperation Implementation Division at the Department of Roads, said construction could move forward once the Chinese side submits the final design.

“We are committed to moving ahead quickly and are working accordingly,” Aryal said. “The design has not yet arrived from the Chinese side.”

He said a decision on the design is expected within two weeks, after which the contract process can proceed. Aryal noted that the department only received official information about the implementation agreement last week.

Asked whether the contract could be awarded within the current fiscal year, Aryal said the situation remains uncertain because the project is being built with foreign grant assistance.

“Even so, we plan to complete the contract agreement and begin work within the current fiscal year,” he said.

The first phase of the Ring Road widening, from Koteshwar to Kalanki, took six years to complete despite being contracted in 2012.

A Chinese technical team arrived in Nepal on April 19, 2025, to conduct surveys for the second phase. The team spent about two and a half months carrying out field studies for the design.

According to preliminary plans, a concrete bridge will be constructed at Dhungedhara. Three disability-friendly pedestrian overbridges are also planned, including between Sitapaila and Balaju, near Machhapokhari, and between Samakhusi and the Basundhara Police Post.

Officials said street lighting from Kalanki to Basundhara Chowk will also be installed as part of the Chinese-funded widening.

While the second phase remains stalled, Nepal has moved ahead independently with part of the third phase.

The government-funded section from Narayangopal Chowk to Chappal Karkhana, measuring around 700 metres, has already been completed and has become a popular urban corridor.

According to the Kathmandu Road Division Office, the work was completed in 13 months. The contract was awarded to Ambuja/SK/Kali JV at Rs240 million, including VAT.

The road has been widened to six lanes, and future sections are also expected to be widened to six lanes, excluding service roads.

According to the Kathmandu Valley Traffic Police Office, between 400,000 and 500,000 passenger vehicles use the Ring Road daily. Experts say the road widening has failed to keep pace with increasing traffic demand, resulting in chronic congestion.

Subodh Kumar Devkota, chief of the Kathmandu Road Division Office, said the Narayangopa Chowk-Chappal Karkhana section could have been extended further to Gopikrishna and the Dhobikhola bridge, but budget constraints prevented that.

He said preparations are underway to issue a contract this fiscal year for an additional 1.2-kilometre section.

“We have already secured multi-year funding approval for the widening from Chappal Karkhana to the Dhobikhola bridge,” Devkota said. “We have approval for Rs510 million and plan to complete construction within 18 months of awarding the contract.”

The section between Basundhara and Narayangopal Chowk remains under study.

Devkota said an underpass could be a possible solution because it would avoid the need to demolish a large number of houses.

“If an underpass can be built, homes would not need to be removed. There are many houses along that section,” he said.

The government’s budget for the upcoming fiscal year states that work will begin on the Kalanki-Basundhara section and that the design for the Basundhara-Chabahil-Koteshwar section will also be completed.

The sections not covered by Chinese assistance fall under the jurisdiction of the Kathmandu Road Division Office.

The Chabahil-Koteshwar section presents additional challenges because it passes through areas containing several sites listed as UNESCO World Heritage. Officials say detailed studies will be required before determining how the project can proceed without affecting those heritage sites.

Former secretary Keshav Kumar Sharma said delays in the project have become increasingly difficult to justify given Kathmandu’s worsening traffic congestion.

“Sometimes the delays were caused by the Chinese side, and at other times by the Nepali government,” Sharma said. “Construction should not be delayed any further. Some sections contain many houses, making management difficult.”

He said uncertainty over how to deal with heritage sites in certain areas has also contributed to delays.

“For some stretches, we were waiting for China to build them,” Sharma said. “As delays continued, the Nepali government started and completed the Narayangopal-Chappal Karkhana section using its own resources.”

Sharma argued that completing the Ring Road widening and improving the city’s river corridor roads would significantly ease traffic congestion across the Kathmandu Valley.