Work on Outer Ring Road to start mid-July

Work on Outer Ring Road to start mid-July
eKantipur.com, 4-Feb-08
POST REPORT

The government has decided to start construction of the 72-kilometer Outer Ring Road (ORR) in Kathmandu Valley from next fiscal year, which begins in mid-July.

Speaking at an interaction organized by Media Group Nepal in the capital on Monday, Suresh Prakash Acharya, chief of the Outer Ring Road Development Project (ORRDP), said consultations are going on with various donors for technical and monetary support for the project.

"We have decided to start construction work between Chovar and Satungal on our own from the start of next fiscal year even if there is no support from donors by then," he added.

Acharya, though, informed that the government of China has shown interest in constructing the ORR. A technical team from China recently came to Nepal to get information on the project.

Acharya said the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for a 26-km stretch of the proposed raod from Sandol to Thali is almost complete. "We will complete the DPR of the remaining 32-km stretch within this fiscal year," he said, adding that DPR preparation and construction work would proceed simultaneously.

The government started preparing the DPR for the project four years ago. So far, some Rs 20 million has been spent for the purpose.

He also said that the ORRDP has completed a Model Readjustment Plan for the road, study of intersection development on the road stretch, and technical evaluation and preparation of townscape along the proposed road.

The ORR is being constructed as a model for planned urban development in Kathmandu Valley. It aims to carry out planned urban development along the road's corridor of influence, which consists of areas within 250 meters on either side of the road.

"It would take some five billion rupees to compensate for land acquired for the road, while construction of a 50-meter wide road is also expensive," he added.

Besides four municipal areas, the proposed road will help connect 41 outlying Village Development Committees (VDCs) - 22 in Kathmandu, 44 in Lalitpur and 13 in Bhaktapur - with the main road network. Of the total road length, 35.08 km will lie in Kathmandu, 21.05 km in Bhaktapur and 15.80 km in Lalitpur district.

Officials believe that construction of the proposed road will greatly ease the Valley's worsening traffic situation as the road will have a Fast Lane, Slow Lane, Parking Lane, Cycle Lane, Green Belt and Footpath in parallel.

Speaking on the occasion, leaders of political parties cautioned that the land mafia would render permanent residents in the project-affected areas landless. They also urged the government to adopt measures to check unscrupulous land purchase and sale.