Despite issuing a warning to the China State Construction Engineering Corporation Limited for the delay in widening the Narayanghat-Butwal road and failure to carry out urgent repairs, the Department of Road appears prepared to continue working with the Chinese contractor. The development comes after the Chinese contractor made visible progress in repairing the road.

In late September, dissatisfied with the progress of the work, the department had warned that it might have to terminate the contract with the Chinese contractor. The work involves widening the existing two-lane road section to six lanes.

The project is being undertaken under two packages—the Daunne-Gaindakot section in the east and the Daunne-Butwal section in the west. Both the packages were awarded to the China State Construction Engineering Corporation Limited.

Considering these shortcomings, the project managers of the two packages stated in a notice in late September that the engineer (consultant) has provided a timeline to the contractor to correct the failures by October 22 and a continued failure would force the employer (the department) to initiate the process of contract termination. Later the deadline was extended till November 15 considering that the contractor could not work as it wanted due to incessant rainfalls during the Dashain festival.

“Following the latest deadline extension, the contractor carried out repair and maintenance work after which the travel time from Narayangadh to Butwal has come down to 2.45 hours from over four years earlier,” said Sushil Babu Dhakal, chief of project directorate (Asian Development Bank) under the Department of Roads. “We have information that the contractor has mobilized 600-800 workers each in the two packages. Two asphalt mixers have been mobilized for blacktopping the roads.”

Dhakal called the current progress as dramatic and positive. But the contractor has already received warning that it must make substantial progress on the project to save the contract.

“Given this context, the Chinese contractor must assure that recent intensification in works will continue,” said Dhakal. “We had a meeting with the project consultant on Thursday. The consultant has sought a few days to make recommendations on what to do with the contractor.”

He, however, hinted that the Chinese contractor could continue working under their close supervision. If the contract is terminated, a new process needs to be initiated and this will increase the cost and delay the project further. As per the original schedule, the contractor should have completed the road widening work by August 7.

But two project offices overseeing the two packages, extended the deadline by another 386 days from August 7. But physical progress of the work has remained at less than 20 percent.

In the public notice issued in late September, the project offices pointed out several weaknesses of the contractor. It said the contractor ignored numerous instructions by engineers and the employer; the road surface was littered with myriads of potholes, causing discomfort to the users, besides causing dust nuisance that posed health hazards and contributed to road accidents.

People travelling long distances during the Dashain festival suffered a lot due to the pothole-ridden road.

Road widening work along the 114-km Butwal-Narayanghat section, one of the busiest of the East-West Highway, was initiated with Rs17 billion loan assistance from the Asian Development Bank.

Former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, when he was in power, had laid the foundation for upgrading the road in early 2019 after the Chinese firm was awarded the contract in February of the same year.

In November 2019, the Chinese contractor had formally started the work in the field.

But the Covid pandemic that began in late 2019, stalled the work.

“But even after the situation eased, the Chinese contractor worked at snail’s pace,” Ramesh Kumar Disti, chief of the Narayanghat-Butwal Road Project (Eastern Sector) told the Post in September.

According to the road department officials, the Chinese contractor has vowed to complete the work within the extended deadline. “Promises are not enough, the performance in the field should be convincing,” said Dhakal.