The Koteshwor-Kalanki Road Widening Project will be complete by December, according to project officials.

Project’s engineer Niranjan Sharma Aryal said around 97 percent of the work has progress has been tracked on the 10.4 km project contracted to the Chinese Company Shanghai Construction Group.

Along with the project, works relating to the construction of an underpass—the first of its kind in Nepal—are nearing completion. Only the 1.4km stretch at Balkhu remains to be blacktopped.

The 800-metre underpass between Kalanki Chowk and Khasi Bazaar area is likely to come into operation in a couple of days, the project officials said. The project, which began four years ago, was expected to be completed in 40 months. But the deadline has been extended twice: at first, by a year following the 2015 earthquake and border blockade by India and again in last July after it failed to meet the second deadline.

A total of 60 Nepalis and 200 Chinese are working on the Rs1 billion project. (rss)