At a time when construction delay of almost all the development projects has been reported across the country, four motorable bridges have been completed before the deadline in Dang district.

The construction company claimed it completed the construction of the bridge eight months ahead of the deadline. “The construction of the bridge has been already completed. Just the wall on pavements of the bridge remains to be built. We plan to hand over the bridge to the authorities within three months,” said Sudip Basyal, an engineer at the construction company. The deadline for the completion of the construction work was July 2020.

The bridges are between 200 metres and 860 metres long and the construction has been completed seven months to one year ahead of the deadline mentioned in the project agreement. These development works are exemplary for the construction companies who leave even small development works incomplete for years.

The then prime minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal had laid the foundation stone of Rapti bridge linking Sisahaniya and Mahadewa of Dang on December 7, 2016. Anak Construction Pvt Ltd was awarded the contract to build the 860-metre bridge, which is believed to be the second-longest motorable bridge in the country. The total cost of the bridge construction is Rs 1 billion.

Anak Construction is the same builder that built Kothiyaghat bridge across the Karnali river in Bardiya district a few years ago. The Kothiyaghat is the longest bridge in the country measuring 1,015 metres. Basyal said that the company had also completed the construction of the longest bridge around one year earlier than the set deadline. “The dedication of the construction company, availability of required equipment, management of human resources and assistance of the local people contributed to the timely completion of the bridges. Delays in development projects are rare when the construction company and stakeholders are accountable for it,” he said.

Similarly, a 200-metre bridge linking Kapadadebi and Manpur across the Gwar stream has been completed before the deadline. Transportation of goods and services has already started along the newly constructed bridge. Rasuwa Construction had received the contract of the bridge. The same construction company had completed another bridge linking Bhojpur of Tulsipur and Tarigaun two years ago. The Bhojpur-Tariguan bridge was handed over to the authorities a year ahead of the July 2018 deadline.

Another under-construction bridge along the Ghorahi-Tulsipur road section, handled by Rasuwa Construction, is also almost complete. The construction company is preparing to hand over the bridge within two months.

“Development projects can be completed on time if the company gives due priority and carries out the work sincerely,” said Rameshwor Rijal, manager of Rasuwa Construction.

These are only a few successful development projects in the district in terms of timely work completion. “Around 99 percent development projects are not completed within the set deadline. Most of the development projects have been delayed in the district except some small road construction works,” said Lila Bahadur Bhandari, the acting chief at Division Road Office in Ghorahi.