The second extended deadline for the Butwal-Narayanghat road widening project is expiring on July 22, 2024. However, only 52 percent of the work has been completed.

Currently it is the rainy season, and the Butwal-Narayanghat, a major road stretch of the East-West Highway, is in a pitiable condition. Travelling on this road is very difficult as the contractor company, China State Corporation, failed to complete the road widening work on time.

Even after light rain, the road becomes slippery and the traffic is stuck for hours in both Nawalparasi East and Nawalparasi West. Just last week, transportation along the Chormara area of Madhyabindu Municipality in Nawalparasi West was disrupted for hours. Even when the rain stops, the problem continues due to the lack of repairs of the damaged road. The contractor has ignored repeated requests by the local administration and the road department to expedite the work.

Bhimalal Adhikari, the mayor of Madhyabindu Municipality, said that the contractor keeps assuring the local administration and roads department staff that the work would be expedited, but has failed to deliver. "The contractor does not say anything about why the work has been delayed. It is not clear whether it is due to lack of funds or other reasons. The contractor has not expedited the road widening works despite our pledge to provide riverbed materials and make a conducive environment for work," he said.

Locals and travellers have been complaining to the local head and district administration about the bad condition of the road. The contractor has been making various excuses for the delay, forcing thousands of people travelling on this road section to endure dust in the summer and mud in the rainy season.

With the initiative of the District Coordination Committee (DCC), a discussion was held between the contractor, local units concerned, and the administration last week. Baburam Bishwakarma, chief of the DCC said that since the contractor and the government are only blaming each other in the dispute, he has instructed them to resolve the problem and facilitate the transportation within a week.

“Passengers have suffered a lot. But it seems the contractor has not heeded the government’s request,” Bishwakarma said. “One major reason for the delay is that the contractor has not deployed enough manpower. But it has been making various excuses, delaying the work. Now the government in Kathmandu should intervene to resolve the matter” he added.

The contractor company has been claiming that although the government awarded the contract, the authorities took a long time to issue permission to clear the trees, and three years were lost due to the Covid pandemic causing it a loss of around Rs6 billion. Citing lack of funds for repairs, the Department of Roads has been asking the contractor to repair the road and deduct the cost from future payments.

According to Rakesh Jha, an engineer of China State Company, the construction work has been facing some delays due the ongoing rainy season and lack of sufficient resources. "For three years after the contract was signed, we could not work due to various reasons, including delays in clearing the roadside trees," said Jha.

The highway widening work is being carried out at a cost of Rs 16.157 billion with loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) by dividing the 115-km road from Butwal to Narayanghat into two sections. According to the original contract, the work was supposed to start in March 2019 and complete in July 2022.

However, due to disruptions caused by the Covid pandemic and lack of construction materials, the deadline was extended to August 28, 2023 for the eastern section and July 27, 2023 for the western section. After these deadlines were not met, a second extension was granted until July 23, 2024.

Ashish Thapa Magar, head of the eastern section of the project, said, “The problem has worsened because the contractor did not work according to the terms of the contract.” “A decision on further extension has not been made yet. For a new extension, the contractor must submit sufficient evidence that it can meet the extended deadline,” he added.