KATHMANDU, Dec 23: The government has decided to construct Kathmandu-Tarai Fast Track road on its own.
A cabinet meeting held at Singha Durbar on Thursay decided to construct the fast track road project on its own and also formed a seven-member committee led by Vice-Chairman of the National Planning Commission Dr Min Bahadur Shrestha to come up with possible suggestions for managing funds for the ambitious project.
The committee has been asked to come up with its report within a month.
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“The committee has been assigned to study whether the detailed project report (DPR) prepared by an Indian company earlier can be used or not; or we need a new DPR. Similarly, the committee will explore financial resources for the project,” Minister for Information and Communication Surendra Kumar Karki informed reporters following the cabinet meeting.
He said that the committee will explore if the government should ask the general public for funds for the project or utilize funds of public corporations or go for other options. “The government will begin construction of the fast track on the basis of the recommendations of the committee's report,” he added.
On November 21, the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport (MoPIT) had terminated all agreements and contracts that the government had signed with the Indian consortium led by Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL&FS) regarding the development of Kathmandu-Tarai Fast Track project.
The ministry had decided to scrap agreements and contracts with IL&FS following instructions from various parliamentary committees. The committees had stated that the agreements with the Indian company were against national interest and would unnecessary put financial burden on the government.
To build the project with an estimated cost of Rs 98 billion, the Indian company had demanded Rs 15 billion grant from the government.
It had also demanded another Rs 20 billion as traffic guarantee.
Meanwhile, the development committee of the parliament has asked the MoPIT and other concerned authorities to prepare a DPR for the construction of Rasuwagadi-Kathmandu-Pokhara-Lumbini railway and metro railway in the Kathmandu Valley. .
Similarly, the cabinet has endorsed a proposal to provide up to 75 percent of the salary as allowances to the engineers and other technicians deployed by the government to assist in the reconstruction work in the earthquake-hit districts.
