MORANG: About 35 percent of the construction work on the Asian Highway road section from Kakarbhitta to Laukahi has been completed in two years. The project aims to strengthen road connectivity between Asian countries.
Jagat Prajapati, Chief of the Itahari Office of the Western Section, stated that the first phase of single-lane blacktopping on the western road from Padajugi in Jhapa began on Sunday. He added that about 35 percent of the total work has been completed since the construction agreement was signed.
According to Chief Prajapati, although the project initially planned to upgrade 120 kilometers of road under Asian Highway No. 2, only 95.76 km is currently under contract. The work is divided into two sections: eastern and western. So far, about 20 kilometers of one-way blacktopped road have been completed in both sections.
Sunilbabu Pant, head of the eastern section based in Damak, said approximately 35 percent of the eastern section’s work has also been completed. He noted that progress would accelerate if construction materials become more readily available.
While around 80 percent of the work of relocating electricity poles in the eastern section is complete, only about 40 percent has been done in the western section, with poles in the market areas yet to be moved.
The project office reported that construction of large bridges is 23 percent complete in the eastern section and 25 percent complete in the western section.
The Asian Highway will start in Bangkok, Thailand, pass through Myanmar, Bangladesh, and India, and connect to Karachi, Pakistan, via the East-West Highway from Kakarbhitta, Nepal, through Delhi, India. The project is estimated to cost USD 300 million. The road will be built in three categories based on location: market areas, forest areas, and rural areas. Roads in market areas will be 50 meters wide, in forest areas 24 meters, and in rural areas 33 meters.
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