
July 5th, 2024-Kathmanu,Nepal:A significant milestone has been achieved on the under-construction Kathmandu-Tarai Expressway. On Thursday, the Nepal Army announces the breakthrough of a 1,612-meter tunnel in Lendanda. This tunnel, one of the twin-tube tunnels, is located in the Bakaiya and Gadhi rural municipalities of Makawanpur.
This tunnel connects Kathmandu to Nijgadh in southern Nepal by 76 kilometers of highway. It is third tunnel that whoch achieved breakthrough in Kathmandu- Terai Expressway. Prabhu Ram Sharma, the Chief of Army Staff, though he could not attend the event physically, he virtually inspected the breakthrough. Sharma said that, additional tunnels on the road are progressing well, and that the army is dedicated to completing the project in accordance with government directions.
This is not the only breakthrough happened since the project started. Previously, on May 24, a 1,653-meter tunnel breakthrough happened at the Dhedre tunnel site in Bakaiya Rural Municipality. On May 17, another big breakthrough was accomplished with the completion of a 1,633-meter twin-tube tunnel at Lendanda.
The Nepal government handed over the project to the Nepal Army on May 4, 2017. The army started construction in August 2017 . The target was set to complete within 4 years. The project got divided into 13 segments. But, contracts for the 6.5-kilometer stretch at the Khokana-Bungamati area in Lalitpur, Makawanpur, and Nijgadh are pending due to unresolved land acquisition issues at the entry point.
The Kathmandu-Tarai Expressway, once completed, will significantly cut travel time. The highway consists of 11 kilometers of bridges and 6 kilometers of tunnels. It is one of the signifiant project of Nepal constructed upto date.
The Kathmandu-Tarai Expressway is set to transform travel between Kathmandu and southern Nepal, promising a faster and more efficient route.