New highway for Nepal

A new stretch of highway is now open to traffic in Nepal. The Nepalthok-Khurkot Road recently had its official opening. Some US$46.2 million was spent on the section of highway, with much of the funding being provided by the Japanese Government. The Nepalthok-Khurkot section of road forms part of a larger project and is Phase 3, Part-I of the Banepa-Sindhuli-Bardibas BP highway. The BP highway named after Nepal’s late prime minister Bishweshor Prasad Koirala, with financial assistance of the Japanese government. The highway is expected to cost $241 million in all. The BP highway (160Km) has been divided into four phases for construction Bardibas- Sindhuli (measuring 37km), Sindhulibazzar-Khurkot (measuring 36km), Khurkot-Nepalthok (measuring 37km) and Nepalthok-Dhulikhel (some 50km long). Constructed started in 1996 and is expected to be complete in 2015. The road has been built amidst Nepal’s tough topographical conditions but has met environmental requirements. The new road section was inaugurated jointly by officials from Nepal and Japan. The officials included Tulasi P. Sitaul,a secretary of Ministry of Physical Planning works and Transportation Management-Nepal; Dinkar Sharma director-general, Department of Road Nepal; Benimadhav Gyawali CDO - Sindhuli District – Nepal; Suichi Sakakibara - consular official for the Japanese Embassy-Nepal; Mitsuyassi Kawasaki chief representative JICA; Yosihhikko Chunoda - consultant Nippon Koi.