Is Nepal entering the tunnel?

The break-through date of the 2.68 km long tunnel, which was started in October 2076, has not been fixed yet. But it is believed that it will break through in the next few weeks. The construction of the tunnel, which was started in October 2007, was supposed to be completed within 42 months, but 51 months have passed since the start of the project. Nepal government has invested 6 billion rupees in the construction of this tunnel along with a 16.5 billion loan from the Japanese government.

According to the traffic police, around 10,000 vehicles pass through Nagadhunga road every day. Sisnekhola, which is 8.5 km from Balambu towards Kathmandu, will take only 3 minutes by going through the tunnel. Earlier, it took an average of 41 minutes to cover this distance.

Can this tunnel become a milestone in Nepal's tunnel journey? The answer to this will be determined by the progress of other tunnels that have started to be built alongside this one. Two years have passed since the contract agreement for the Siddhartha tunnel under the Siddhartha highway was signed in Palpa. The contract was signed in February 078, but its work is progressing at a slow pace. For the construction of this tunnel route, the opening of the mouth of the tunnel to the north and south has already started. The contract for this tunnel was signed for 7 billion 34 million 21 million rupees.

There will be 6 tunnels on the Fast Track, the shortest route connecting Kathmandu with Terai Madhesh. Starting from Khokna in Lalitpur and ending at Nijgarh in Bara, the total length of 6 tunnels is 10.055 km. If we are to calculate the distance, the longest tunnel is being built on this fast track. Currently, out of the 6 tunnels to be built on this highway, 4 are under construction and 2 are in the contract process. The Nepalese army is starting the work of this highway after taking the contract.

The work of tunnel feasibility study is also going on in Sindhuli section of BP highway, Lamabagar in Dolakha and other places. Apart from this, the study of the Tokha-Chhare tunnel, which will be built with the help of the Chinese government, has also been completed. The Wagmati state government has also studied the tunnel for the Sankhu Phatakeshwar-Gokarna Sand Budhanilkanth route.

A tunnel route from Mazhimtar-Shaktikhor-Jogimara is also being discussed to reach Chitwan through a short route from Prithvi Highway. Similarly, the Thankot Chitlang tunnel under the Ganeshman route has also been studied with the grant of the Swiss government.