Two dozen provincial road projects remain incomplete in Kanchanpur

Kanchanpur: Road infrastructure projects allocated by the Sudurpaschim provincial government across various municipalities in Kanchanpur have remained incomplete for years. Due to negligence by construction companies, projects contracted through the Infrastructure Development Office, Kanchanpur, have been stalled for the past eight years, with more than two dozen roads contracted in the fiscal year 2074 still unfinished.

A 12-kilometer road from Daiji on the East-West Highway in Bedkot Municipality to Lipna at the Dadeldhura district border was contracted nine years ago with Nargajun Construction for Rs 212.653 million. Although only five kilometers have been blacktopped so far, the original completion deadline of Shrawan 5, 2076, has long passed. The Infrastructure Development Office, Mahendranagar, extended the deadline five times, most recently to 20 Asad 2082, but construction remains incomplete due to contractors’ delays.

Similarly, the Bank Pahariya-Domilla road project, contracted in fiscal year 2076/077 for Rs 82.856 million to blacktop seven kilometers, has also stalled. Another road contracted with Santoshi-Thegim JV for Rs 133.6 million in the same fiscal year has not been completed despite repeated deadline extensions.

In total, two dozen smaller road blacktopping and maintenance projects across all nine local levels of Kanchanpur, contracted between Rs 1.5 and 20 million, remain unfinished, causing difficulties for local residents.

Padam Madai, Chief of the Infrastructure Development Office, Kanchanpur, said the delays are due to contractors not working on schedule. “The trend of neglecting work after taking contracts has hindered development and construction,” he stated, adding that legal action will now be taken against contractors who fail to complete their projects.