September 26: As the construction works along the Narayanghat-Butwal road section of the East West Highway has been intolerably slow, the government has warned the contractor of terminating the contract.    
Issuing a notice on Sunday, the South Asia Sub-Regional Economic Cooperation Road Connectivity Project of the Department of Roads said that the contract agreement would be terminated if the existing working style of the contractor is not improved.    
The 114 kilometres of road stretch was divided in two sections while awarding the contract through a global bidding process. The China State Construction Engineering Corporation Limited had won the tender bids of both sections considering its proposal to construct the road section at the minimum base rate. However, several complaints have been received on part of the construction company regarding the dillydallying of the project.    
The project was expected to be completed in August 7, 2022. However, the construction company has completed only 18 per cent of the total work even after the final deadline.    
Against this backdrop, the Department of Roads has warned the construction company to mend its ways and ensure reforms within a month. Otherwise, the department has warned the company to get ready to face contract termination.    
The department has further said that the travelers and vehicles have faced several issues including difficulties in travel, air pollution and others problems due to carelessness of the construction company. The locals in the affected area have also suffered while road accidents have increased.     
As the contract agreement ended on August 7, the government has extended the deadline for one more year at the request of the construction company but the construction works at present have halted, said Chief Engineer of Narayanghat-Butwal Road Project (Eastern Section) Ramesh Kumar Dristi.    
The project is being developed with nearly Rs 17 billion in loan assistance from the Asian Development Bank. -- RSS