KATHMANDU: The long-awaited Nagdhunga–Sisnekhola Tunnel was officially inaugurated on Monday, marking the completion of a project first approved by the government of then Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal nearly 15 years ago.
The tunnel was inaugurated by Minister for Infrastructure Development Sunil Lamsal in the presence of Japanese Ambassador Maeda Toru and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) President Dr Tanaka Akihiko.
Although the tunnel has been one of Nepal’s most discussed infrastructure projects for more than a decade, the formal decision to build it was taken by the Cabinet led by Khanal shortly after he assumed office.
The Cabinet approved the construction of a tunnel linking Nagdhunga in Kathmandu with Naubise (Jhyaple Khola) in Dhading to ease chronic traffic congestion in the Kathmandu Valley. The project has now been completed 15 years after that decision.
On the day he assumed office on 6 February 2011 (Magh 23, 2067 BS), Khanal endorsed the Sitapaila–Dharke road file, and the proposal was formally approved by the Cabinet on 10 February 2011 (Magh 27, 2067 BS).
At the time, the tunnel was planned to be 2.4 kilometres long at an estimated cost of US$50 million. The project was first included in the national budget for the 2011–12 fiscal year by then Finance Minister Bharat Mohan Adhikari.
In March 2013, the Department of Roads published the project’s preliminary feasibility study. At the request of the Government of Nepal, JICA carried out a detailed study at its own expense from 2013. It submitted a data collection survey in 2014 and a preparatory survey in March 2015, concluding that the project was technically and economically viable.
To mark the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Nepal and Japan, the Japanese government announced concessional loan support for the project in 2016. In January 2017 (Poush 2073 BS), the two countries signed a concessional loan agreement worth 16.63 billion Japanese yen (approximately Rs 15.28 billion).
After the detailed design was completed in April 2018, Japanese construction firm Hazama Ando Corporation was selected through an international bidding process to build the tunnel.
Then Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli laid the foundation stone for the project on 21 October 2019, when the estimated cost stood at Rs 22 billion.
Despite delays caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, construction continued, and the tunnel’s main breakthrough was achieved in 2024 in the presence of then Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’.
The tunnel officially entered full operation on Monday, nearly 15 years after the initial Cabinet decision. The completed project features a 2.688-kilometre main tunnel along with a separate emergency rescue tunnel.
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