Construction work is commencing on the Nepal First Tunnel Road project. The foundation stone has been laid in a ceremony held by the Nepalese prime minister KP Sharma Oli and the Japanese ambassador to Nepal, Masamichi Saigo. The foundation stone was laid in a ceremony organised at Chandragiri Municipality Ward No 1, Kathmandu, Nepal.
The Tunnel will connect the busy Prithvi Highway via Tribhuvan Highway with Nepal’s capital Kathmandu. This will run between Dahachowk in Kathmandu and Sisnekhola in Dhading. The 2.68km tunnel will be 10m wide and construction is expected to be completed in 42 months. The project has an estimated cost of US$192.7 million, of which $140.2 million is being provided as a soft loan from the Japanese Government. The remaining $52.5 million is being provided by the Nepalese Government. The work to build the link is being carried out by the Japanese Contractor Hazama Ando Corp.
Images and report courtesy of World Highways’ Nepal correspondent Ram Krishna Wagle
