The Kathmandu Valley Development Authority has received letters of interest for the development of Outer Ring Road Project from two Chinese firms.

KVDA Chief Executive Officer Bhai Kaji Tiwari said after China Railway Engineering Consulting Group (CRECG) and China Energy Engineering Corporation (CEEC) expressed their interest in the project, the authority has asked them to submit their business proposals.

CEEC is a Chinese state-owned energy conglomerate, with its headquarters in Chaoyang District, Beijing, while CRECG is a Beijing-based private construction company.

Tiwari said the KVDA is ready to work with the companies if they meet the criteria.

The Ministry of Urban Development had approved the detailed project report (DPR) for the first phase of the project, a 6.2 km road between Chobhar and Satungal, in last April. The project development, however, has faced delays due to long-standing land acquisition dispute. KVDA officials say the files related to land acquisition is gathering dust at the MoUD for the past seven months. Sambhu KC, spokesperson at the ministry said they will forward the file for Cabinet approval soon after the Oli government appoints the new minister.

“We could not forward the file to the previous government because it was busy in elections,” he said.

The 72 km Outer Ring Road is expected to ease Kathmandu Valley’s traffic congestion.

“The country has got a stable government now. We expect this government to resolve the land acquisition issue and start the project development,” said Tiwari.

To acquire 9,000 ropanis of land in Chobhar and Satungal for Outer Ring Road development, the project has allocated Rs 20 billion.

The project has divided the 72 km Outer Ring Road into 11 sections; 35.08km of the road will fall in Kathmandu, 15.80km in Lalitpur and 21.05km in Bhaktapur.