The much-talked about Republic Monument, being built on the eastern side of Narayanhiti Palace in the Capital, will be completed by the end of this May. 

According to the Department of Urban Development and Building Construction, 85 percent of the project has been completed and the remaining works will be over in two months. The project which was initiated in 2012 by the then prime minister Baburam Bhattarai, was supposed to be completed by December 2016. 

Making amends to the construction delay, the department is considering making public entry to the monument free.

The monument has four pillars—each commemorating martyrs who sacrificed their lives or those disappeared and injured to establish the state as a republic. 

It will have a replica of the map of Nepal and red lights will be projected on the surface that denote the blood of the dead ones.

Also under construction around the monument in the Narayanhiti Palace is a park with water fountains. The construction is being carried out in 35 ropanies of land at a total budget of Rs420 million. Of that, Rs350 million has been spent so far. 

“The construction is in full swing and we expect to finish the project by May. The budget has been utilised properly and the contractors are working hard to build the monument on time,” said Macha Kaji Maharjan, senior division engineer at the DUDBC.  

Having laid the foundation stone, Bhattarai himself had overseen the initial construction works of the project. However, the project lost its momentum due to the devastating earthquake of 2015 and the Indian border blockade. The resultant shortage of construction materials and human resources pushed the deadline by over a year. 

The DUDBC has prepared a report and drafting a set of guidelines for the maintenance of the place and is planning to make the entry free. 

The government had also planned to build a Republic tower at Kirtipur, but the project was delayed due to budget constraint.