KATHMANDU: The Department of Road has targeted to complete the blacktopping of remaining 15-km of 86-km Kanti Highway within this fiscal year, 2020/21.

Due to difficult topography, five-km of road will be left to be blacktopped in a few years while the remaining 10-km will be blacktopped within this year.

The Kanti Highway is an alternative road linking Kathmandu to Hetauda.

Plans are afoot to make the highway two-lane, informed project information officer, Deepesh Rajak.

Rajak shared, “The construction works relating to the highway were disrupted time to time due to rainfall. One kilo metre at Chapeli in Lalitpur remains to be blacktopped while there are few stretches in Makawanpur section which need to be blacktopped.”

According to him, it takes around Rs 10 million to properly blacktop 1-km of road. Six months have been extended in the deadline for the construction of the Kanti Highway.

“The construction works were obstructed in the past owing to various reasons such as Covid-19 pandemic and rainfall among others. But, now, it has gained a pace,” he added.