The Chinese government, which is funding the second phase of the Kathmandu Ring Road Improvement Project, has asked the Department of Roads (DoR) to clear electric poles by June so construction work can start from that date.

The Chinese Commerce Ministry has asked the DoR, the government department implementing the project, to remove utility poles on the Kalanki-Maharajgunj section of the Ring Road.

A high-level Chinese team was in Kathmandu last November to conduct a field study for the second phase of the Kathmandu Ring Road Improvement Project. Upon returning to China, they asked the department to clear the road. 

“We have to remove electric poles on either side of the road by June as requested by China,” said Sanjay Kumar Shrestha, chief of the Foreign Cooperation Branch at the DoR. After they start work on the stretch that has been cleared, we will start removing poles along other sections of the road.”  

The Chinese government is undertaking the second phase of the project which includes upgradation of a 17-km stretch from Kalanki to Maharajgunj, Chabahil and Koteshwor.

Nepal and China signed a pact to improve the 10-km segment in 2012. When the deal was signed, China had expressed interest in upgrading the entire 27-km length of the Ring Road, according to the DoR.

The plan was subsequently abandoned as the Chinese government said that the funding required to build the entire Ring Road exceeded its budget. At that time, China had promised to upgrade the rest of the Ring Road under the second phase.

As part of the first phase of the project which is worth Rs5.27 billion, the 10-km road section is being widened to eight lanes from two lanes, and separate bicycle lanes are being built. According to the Department of Roads, more than 80 percent of the construction work has been completed. Four bridges have been expanded.

Likewise, the construction of three pedestrian bridges has been completed. Also, more than 80 percent of the construction work on an 800-metre underpass extending from Khasi Bazaar to Baphal has been completed. Currently, Shanghai Construction Group, the contractor for the project, has been working on a war footing, and it is on track to meet the completion deadline of mid-July.

The project, launched in June 2013, was expected to be completed in 2017. But the completion date was pushed back by a year to July 2018 due to shortages of construction materials, the devastating 2015 earthquakes and a fuel crisis triggered by an Indian blockade.

The Chinese company resumed work in January 2016, and has stepped up the pace since then.