KATHMANDU: Construction of some 20 bridges along the Postal Highway, the project of national pride, has been hampered due to several reasons. Contracts of these bridges were signed a decade ago.
The government has a target of completing the highway project by the fiscal year 2079-80 BS.
Cases relating to five bridges are under consideration in the court while some have gone into arbitration, according to project chief Rohit Kumar Bisural.
Contracts of some bridges date back to the fiscal year 2066-67 BS and they have more issues than of the newly contracted ones, said Bisural. It was found that they were signed in haste at that time.
In the Tarai-Madhesh, major rivers like Kamala, Bagmati, Narayani and Rapti have yet to see the completion of bridges and it has caused inconvenience for movement. It has been over a decade since the commencement of bridge construction over the Bagmati linking Rautahat and Sarlahi districts under the highway.
Its contract was signed in 2067 BS with the Lumbini Builders Pvt Ltd and the locals had protested against what they said the use of substandard construction materials in the project.
The works have been suspended since 2069 BS and the contractor company has gone into arbitration. The case concerning the dispute about the bridge is under consideration in the court.
A total of seventy bridges are under construction under highway projects while the designs of 74 bridges have been sent to the Department of Roads for approval. The project is waiting for approval to go for the tender process. To date, 93 bridges under the project have been completed and study about 20 bridges is awaited. RSS
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