Govt. to construct Kathmandu-Tarai fast-track with own investment

3D image of proposed Kathmandu-Tarai fast track.

Kathmandu / Nov 20: The government is to construct the Kathmandu-Tarai fast track with own investment.

In today’s meeting of the Development and Finance Committees of the Legislature-Parliament, Minister for Physical Planning and Infrastructure Development, Ramesh Lekhak said that the government was committed to constructing the fast-track with domestic resources.

Minister Lekhak said, “Now all bodies concerned should make decision standing together in course of taking the nation’s pride project ahead.”

The government had made preparation to assign Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Ltd (ILFS) for the construction of the project and process to forward construction task of the project was affected due to criticism from all sides.

Minister Lekhak said that the government has tabled the proposal for constructing the 76-kilometres fast-track with own investment at the cabinet.

Construction works of postal highway accelerated

Minister Lekhak said that construction works of postal highway has been expedited. Out of 701 kilometres postal highway, Nepal will construct 401 kilometres itself and remaining by India.

Commitment to meet required funds

Finance Minister Krishna Bahadur Mahara expressed the commitment to ensure funds for the national pride projects including the Tarai-Madhesh fast track and the Nijgadh international airport. “The problem however is not lack of funds but inability to spend it. The problem in capital expenditure has not improved,” he said.

Of the Rs. 10 billion allocated for the fast-track this fiscal year, only Rs. 1.2 million has been spent in the first quarter of the fiscal.

Nijgadh international airport

Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Jeevan Bahadur Shahi has said lack of coordination among the line ministries has obstructed the construction of the Nijgadh international airport.

Shedding light on the various problems facing the project, Minister Shahi urged the Committee to suggest ways to resolve them.

Chairperson of Development Committee Rabindra Adhikari, Chair of Finance Minister Prakash Jwala, member Surendra Bahadur Pandey, Keshav Badal and others spoke of the need for unity among all the political parties to move ahead with the Nijgadh international airport project and the Kathmandu-Tarai fast track.

They suggested the government to allocate all the unspent budget every fiscal year for the fast track road project and complete it in a fast track manner. RSS