By A Staff Reporter

Kathmandu, May 28: The Kathmandu-Terai/Madhes Fast Track (Expressway) (KTFT) project has entered the second phase of construction work after completing almost all earthwork related works, the Army Headquarters said on Wednesday.
"We have reached the second phase of this project after the KTFT project office inked an agreement with Yooshin Engineering Corporation, Korea JV, as an international consultant, to take the remaining tunnel and bridges construction works ahead," Brigadier General and project chief Sharad Lal Shrestha said while addressing a press conference organised through a video conference from the headquarters.
The project office and Yooshin Engineering had inked an agreement on May 15, 2020, according to Shrestha.
With the agreement, the Project's remaining work of constructing three tunnels of 6.41 km and 87 high-rise bridges under the supervision of the Yooshin and the NA will take place after their arrival in Nepal, he said.
Pre-qualification bid had also been called for taking the project's remaining work ahead by publishing a notice recently, according to him. The Korean JV Corporation will forward the works of the project under the design and build model.
"The Yooshin Engineering Corporation's geotechnical experts would have come to Nepal by the second week of May, but due to ongoing lockdown period, they could not come to Nepal," he said.
The physical progress report of the KTFT, one of the national pride projects of the government, for the fiscal year (2018/19) is 11.11 per cent and the financial progress 9.10 per cent, according to Brigadier Shrestha. Despite the lockdown, the NA has been giving continuity to the project's work partially.
As a set deadline to complete the project is Mid-July, 2024, the lockdown period has not hampered the project's overall progress as the project office has prepared a holistic approach in which 11 separate clusters were designed to begin the remaining works of the project in specified timeline, Shrestha said.
The total length of the project is 72.5 km and Rs. 175 billion, including VAT, is estimated to complete the project.
The Expressway will be of four lanes with total 50 metres right of way and 25 metres wide road in the hills and 27 metres in Terai.
Similarly, the tunnels will be constructed at Mahadevtar with 3.355 km, Dhedre (1.630 km) and Lendanda (1.430) of Makwanpur district.
The Expressway will be of Asian Highway Design Standard (Primary Class) with ‘A’level of service.