By lyndamyer
Linking Sisnekhola of Dhading to Totipakha of Chandragiri Municipality-1 in Kathmandu in Nepal, the Nagdhunga tunnel’s construction with 2,688 m length has been started by the Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on 15 April. The breakthrough of the safety tunnel was in July-August, 2023.
While the total value of this project is almost EUR 246.62 million (INR22 bn), funding three-quarters of it is up to the government of Japan with high concessional loans to the Government of Nepal. In October 2019 the building process of this work was launched, which has been awarded to the Japanese company Hazma Ando Corporation.
Considering that excavating a tunnel in the Himalayan mountainous region is an unimaginably difficult challenge, due to that the inside of the evacuation and main tunnels repeatedly hit by unexpected floods and collapses during the extremely difficult excavation work, the project that was planned to be completed in three-and-a-half years, was delayed. Additionally, outside the tunnels heavy rain caused landslides on the slope faces and also the Covid-19 pandemic followed by a shortage of construction materials a few months ago delayed the progress.
The estimated date for inauguration of this road tunnel to the regular operation is about a year, that will result commuters on the Nagdhunga-Naubise stretch will be able to avoid at least 19 hairpin bends and sharp curves along an 8 km section of the roadway. According to a 2015 preparatory survey, it takes around 34 minutes to navigate the 8 km section following the route’s existing alignment.
