Postal highway setback: Belauri–Beldandi contract cancelled, contractor to be blacklisted

Dhangadhi: The contract for the construction of the Belauri–Beldandi section of the Postal Highway in Kanchanpur has been cancelled after prolonged delays. According to the Planning Office of the Postal Highway Directorate in Dhangadhi, the 20-kilometer road section remained incomplete for nearly a decade despite seven deadline extensions.

The Planning Office published a notice on Thursday announcing the cancellation of the construction contract and stated that the contractor would be recommended for blacklisting. An agreement had been signed with Babahansh–Siddhisai Joint Venture on 12 Falgun 2073 to complete the road within 30 months. The total project cost was Rs 414.149 million, but the work could not be completed even after repeated extensions.

Engineer Pramod Chaudhary of the Postal Highway Planning Office, Dhangadhi, said that the physical progress of the project has reached only 82 percent, while financial progress stands at 77.13 percent. He said the contractor failed to resume work even after the deadline was extended for the seventh time on 10 Ashad for a further three and a half months.

“We repeatedly applied pressure and issued notices and correspondence, but the construction company did not restart the work,” Engineer Chaudhary said. “The contract was cancelled after the company failed to respond even after the final notice seeking clarification on why the agreement should not be terminated.”

Of the total 20 kilometers, 12.43 kilometers have been blacktopped in different phases, while base work has been completed on the remaining stretch. Construction was also affected after about 1,400 meters of the road were graveled by the Indian Border Security Force (SSB), claiming the area as their territory. With the contract cancellation, the planning office has stated that further procedures, including confiscation of the contractor’s deposit, will be initiated. Siddhisai is the construction company owned by Nepali Congress Dolpa President Dipendra Bahadur Shahi.

In Kanchanpur, the 62-kilometer stretch of the Postal Highway was divided into three sections for construction. While the other two sections were completed only after repeated deadline extensions, a decision to terminate the Belauri–Beldandi contract had not been taken earlier despite the prolonged delay.

Postal highway construction slows in Kailali too

Construction of the Postal Highway in Kailali has also not been completed. Work on the Bhajani–Satti and Phulbari–Basanta sections of the 45-kilometer road from Dhangadhi to Satti in Tikapur remains unfinished.

According to project information officer Ganesh Bahadur Budha, the physical progress of the 13-kilometer Bhajani–Satti section is only 46 percent. Although the agreement signed in Asad 2077 had set Poush 2079 as the completion deadline, the latest extended deadline is ending in Chaitra.

Similarly, out of the 12-kilometer Phulbari–Kailari section, only one kilometer remains to be blacktopped, with the latest deadline expiring this month. The construction of the link road from Lamki to Satti in Tikapur is also still incomplete, the project office said.