A motorable track linking Phungling, the district headquarters of Taplejung, with China has finally opened.

According to Pemba Thile Sherpa, contractor of the Phungling-Gola-Tiptala road project, the stretch connecting the Tiptala Bhanjyang point with China made a breakthrough on Tuesday. The road was being constructed in the Pati area of Phaktalung Rural Municipality Ward 7.

SBA Elite JV, a Kathmandu-based builder, received the project at the cost of Rs440 million. Its task was to open a 37-kilometre track from Tapekhok to Olangchungola. The firm started work on the track six years ago.

The Phungling-Gola-Tiptala section is a part of Mulghat-Dobhan-Olangchungola road project, also called the Tamor corridor road. With the track opened, the road connects both India and China.

“The road project has achieved a major breakthrough. A dozer operated by Kul Bahadur Gharti Magar opened the track,” said Rajib Lamichhane, the project manager.

The Phungling-Gola-Tiptala road is 85 km long. The contractor had already completed a 24 km road from Tiptala Bhanjyang to Olangchungola. Similarly, a 10 km track from Olangchungola to Pati was also built.

With the Phungling-Gola-Tiptala track, various northern settlements of Taplejung have been connected with the national road network. But it will take some time for vehicles to ply the road. The Chinese have already connected the international border with the road network on the Tibet side.

“We will now clear the already opened track from Pati of Tiptala Bhanjyang. The plan is to complete it in two months,” said Lamichhane. He is hopeful that vehicles can reach the Nepal-China border by the Nepali new year (April 13).

The 24 km road from Tiptala Bhanjyang to Olangchungola was constructed a few years ago with money donated by the people born in Olangchungola and now living in other parts of the country. SBA Elite JV also constructed a 10 km road from Olangchungola to Pati using equipment and fuel brought from China.

Among 14 districts of Koshi Province, Taplejung, Sankhuwasabha and Solukhumbu border Tibet, an autonomous region of China. Works are underway also in Sankhuwasabha to link China by roads.

Kimathanka in Sankhuwasabha and Tiptala Bhanjyang in Taplejung are major points on the Nepal-China border in the east for trade and people’s movement.

The Rani-Mulghat-Dobhan-Olangchungola road now connects the Nepal-India border near Jogbani, which is close to Biratnagar, the provincial headquarters, and Tiptala Bhanjyang, one of Nepal’s northern border points.

The 300 km Rani-Tiptala Bhanjyang road could be a vital trade route between India and China. The 83 km Rani-Mulghat section is metalled while work is underway to blacktop the 95 km Mulghat-Subhangkhola section. The 121 km Subhangkhola-Tiptala Bhanjyang stretch needs a major upgrade for a smooth flow of vehicles.

The Taplejung road section crosses the Tamor river four times at Hadrung, Sukepani, Jongin and Gola. But a bridge has been built only at Handrung.

“The government should prioritise bridge-building in Taplejung,” said Yogesh Bhattarai, a member of the House of Representatives elected from Taplejung. “There is an urgent need for a bridge at Sukepani. I will urge the government to install a Bailey bridge there.”