With the aim of strengthening road infrastructure in the Terai region of Nepal, India has provided Nepali Rs 800 crores of grant assistance under a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), said Indian Embassy in Kathmandu on Wednesday.
“Vinay Mohan Kwatra, Ambassador of India to Nepal and Basant Kumar Nembang, Nepal Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport jointly dedicated to the people of Nepal the Terai Roads built with the government of India grant assistance,” read the release by the Indian Embassy.
Under a Memorandum of Understanding, the Government of Nepal identified ten priority roads to be built under Government of India funding of NR 800 crore.
These Terai roads are also called Hulaki Rajmarg and connect major towns located on the East-West highway with the India-Nepal border, these 10 roads are located in seven border districts of Province 1, 2, and 5 of Nepal and provide a smooth travel experience to people of over 284 wards, 149 villages, 18 village municipalities, 18 municipalities, and 1 sub-metropolitan city.
The project has been implemented under the ‘Government of India funding and Government of Nepal implementation’ modality.
“Each road has a seven-meter carriageway and two meters of shoulders on both sides. The roads also include drainage, footpaths with railings inhabitation areas, road signage boards, road markings and other road furniture. Under the project, over 652 culverts and over 111-kilo meters of drainage network have also been built,” the release said.
The Terai roads project has helped strengthen road infrastructures in the Terai region of Nepal and further boost people to people relationship between the border areas of the two countries.
These completed Hulaki Roads also complement the other major border infrastructure developed by India in Nepal such as Integrated Check Posts at Birgunj and Biratnagar and cross border railway lines.
The 10 roads were divided into 14 packages and the Department of Roads (DoR) of Nepal awarded 14 contracts during the period October 2016 to November 2017 for their construction for contractual purposes.
According to the statement, the specifications for the construction of these roads were prescribed in the Detailed Project Report finalised by the DoR of Nepal.
India and Nepal bilateral relationship has seen another milestone in the development cooperation between the two countries. Ambassador of India and Nepal Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport dedicated 13 of the 14 packages which have been completed and are already being used by the people of the areas for over a year, the release added.
