DHANGADHI, May 25: It has already been seven years since a contracting company ‘Lama Sherpa Shalpa Biruwa JV’ was awarded the contract to build a bridge over the Kandra River along the Postal Highway, a project of national pride.
The company had signed the contract with the government on June 14, 2011. The project, which has a budget of Rs 60.03 million, was supposed to be completed by December 15, 2013. However, the project has made a progress of not even around 20 percent, according to Manish Kumar Shah, chief of the Dhangadhi-based Hulaki Project.
Kandra Bridge not built even in eight years
“Due to the failure of meeting the deadline, the deadline has been extended to July 9, 2018,” he added.
However, based on the current progress, the project is set to miss that deadline as well. They have cited the change in the bridge’s design for the delay in the construction. Likewise, a contract to construct a bridge over the Katani River along the highway was given to BP Construction on June 14, 2011. December 2014 was set as the deadline to complete the Rs 30.04 million project. But due to the failure to complete the project on time, the deadline has already been extended thrice. “We are initiating the process to extend the deadline once again,” said Shah, without citing any reason. There are multiple cases of bridge construction delays along the highway. Yet, the government has been extending the deadline for the contractors without any action.
