Accelerated Road Upgrading Works on Kagbeni–Chhusang Section Connecting Korala Checkpoint
Road upgrading works on the Kagbeni–Chhusang section under the Kaligandaki Corridor in Mustang are progressing rapidly. The project aims to complete the enhancement of the road, which connects the Korala checkpoint, within two years. So far, five thousand cubic meters of gabion walls and two thousand cubic meters of retaining walls have been installed.
On 6th Baishakh, Mustang – The Beni–Jomsom–Korala road project under the Kaligandaki Corridor, which links neighboring countries China and India, is swiftly paving and upgrading the Kagbeni–Chhusang section. The work, interrupted due to severe cold, snowfall during the winter, and the House of Representatives election on Falgun 21, has now regained momentum.
The project office reported that the nine-point-eight-kilometer stretch is undergoing intensified upgrading. Approximately 98 percent of the road from Thasang-4 Ghaso to Korala checkpoint and Kagbeni has been blacktopped by the project. The plan includes proper upgrading and asphalt paving of the road up to Nepal–China’s northern Korala checkpoint, for which the federal government allocated a budget last year.
For asphalt paving and road widening of the Kagbeni–Chhusang section connecting Korala checkpoint in Mustang, the project signed a contract on Asar 26 last year with Toksar Effata/Buddha JV Construction at a cost of NPR 288,796,000. The contract specifies completing the road enhancement, including asphalt paving, within two years. According to the contract, the Kagbeni–Chhusang road should be finished by Asar 24, 2084 BS, project chief Tejaswi Sharma informed.
Although the contract was signed by late Asar, work was halted for five months due to adverse weather and elections, Sharma noted. With the end of winter and the start of summer, the construction company has resumed work. Currently, about 20 percent physical progress has been achieved on the under-construction Kagbeni–Chhusang section. The road, approximately 11 meters wide with 8 meters of asphalt paving, is being constructed. Sagar Shrestha, a representative of the contractor, said that paving and road structure work is underway in Baragung Muktikshetra-3, Tangwe area, which connects to Korala checkpoint.
To upgrade the road, construction of five thousand cubic meters of gabion walls and two thousand cubic meters of retaining walls has been completed. Work including grading, drainage construction where necessary, and other road structures is ongoing. With fuel prices dropping and supply stabilizing, the company aims to complete paving from Kagbeni to Tongwe within five months, Shrestha added. Over 80 workers are deployed daily to meet the project deadline. Shrestha further stated, “We have arranged all necessary equipment and crushers for constructing road structures and paving. Since work is not feasible during winter, the working period each year is limited to seven months.”
The Kagbeni–Chhusang stretch in Baragung Muktikshetra-3 suffered some minor damage from floods and landslides during Asar and Saun. Floods caused erosion in some parts and damage to the road base. In preparation for further upgrading and asphalt paving of the road to the much-discussed northern Korala checkpoint, two phases of initial environmental impact assessments have been completed for the Chhusang–Gham and Gham–Korala sections. Lopzang Chomfel Bisht, chairperson of Loghekar Damodarkunda Rural Municipality, said that if the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, under the Finance Ministry, allocates budgets for paving the road up to Korala, the road access in Upper Mustang will improve significantly. The project estimates that upgrading and paving the Chhusang–Korala road will cost over five billion NPR.
