Kathmandu: Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Kulman Ghising has urged the concerned authorities to ease travel in view of the upcoming festivals. After inspecting various road sections under the Araniko Highway today, Minister Ghising held discussions with the Secretary of the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, the Director General of the Department of Roads, Project Chief, and contractors, directing them to make travel easier by preparing accordingly, stated Senior Divisional Engineer Suman Yogesh, Chief of the Road Division Office, Bhaktapur.
According to National News Agency Nepal, Minister Ghising has assured that the ministry will initiate steps to complete the road expansion work within the current fiscal year and address any potential budget shortages. Meanwhile, the upgrading work on the Suryabinayak-Dhulikhel road project of the Araniko Highway has commenced the blacktopping process in the Janagal area of Banepa Municipality-10. Engineer Bishnu Prasad Khanal of the project mentioned that construction is actively progressing on a one-kilometer road from Chandeshwari Khola to Banepa Chardobato in the eastern part of Banepa, with further preparations to blacktop the road in the Dhulikhel area expected to begin shortly.
The 16-kilometer-long road has been divided into two sections, from Suryabinayak to Sanga and from Sanga to Dhulikhel, with expansion work underway. Currently, 37 percent of the Suryabinayak-Sanga section and 50 percent of the Sanga-Dhulikhel section have been completed, Khanal added. Under the project, an agreement was reached to expand the 8.4-kilometer road section from Sanga to Dhulikhel in the first phase at a cost of Rs 4.56 billion, while the Suryabinayak-Sanga road section commenced in the second phase at a cost of Rs 3.889 billion.