By Binu Shrestha

Kathmandu, May 13: Construction work on dry port of Chobhar in Kirtipur Municipality-6 is moving at a snail’s pace due to shortage of human resources.
The construction work which had come to a halt since the implementation of nationwide lockdown has resumed from May 7, after the government decided to give continuity to construction works.
“We have been unable to resume the construction in full swing due to unavailability of labourers,” said Humanath Khanal, senior infrastructure engineer of Nepal Intermodal Transportation Development Board (NITDB).
“The continuous rainfall has also made the construction site soggy,” added Khanal. “Rainwater has accumulated in most of the places. Thus, machinery works required to be done by using the excavator have come to a halt.”
Khanal said that most of the labourers had returned home after the lockdown was enforced. It has been quite a difficult task to bring them back, he said.
“We do not know when and how the labourers will be brought back to the site and kept in isolation,” he said.
Navaraj Dhakal, joint secretary at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies and executive director of NITDB, said that following the lockdown, the construction work had stopped for more than a month.
Prior to the COVID-19 scare, 80 workers were deployed in the site. Currently, only 20-30 labourers are working, he said.
The labourers have been working to control the damage the recurrent rains can do amid the lockdown. But we have not been able to carry out the construction at full pace, added Dhakal.
Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli had laid the foundation stone of the dry port on January 17, 2019.
However, the planned construction of the inland clearance depot had gone into a limbo in the wake of protests by the locals.
The construction of dry port was expected to be completed by January 2020 but this deadline has already been missed.
Khanal said that the completion date of the project had been extended to September 2020.
Around 50 per cent construction works of the project have been completed till date.
“Due to the lockdown, we are most likely to miss the deadline again,” said Dhakal. “There is no likelihood of completing the construction within next four months.”
He added that the deadline must be extended as it would be difficult to continue construction during the rainy season.
The World Bank Group has provided assistance of around Rs 2 billion for the construction of the dry port in 200 of 816 Ropanis land of Himal Cement Company in Chobhar.
The dry port is being constructed with the purpose of storing imported goods.
The dry port will have the capacity to accommodate 626 containers, parking facility for 205 trucks, warehouses, litigation shed, customs administrative building, banks and loading and unloading facilities.
The NITDB had awarded the construction contract to Aashish Joint Venture and Lumbini-Koinshi and Neupane Joint Venture in August 2018.