Kathmandu, January 1
A Chinese technical team has arrived in Kathmandu to assess the proposed Kathmandu-Rasuwagadhi tunnel road, authorities said on Wednesday.
The team is expected to conduct a preliminary assessment of the Tokha-Chhahare-Gurjubhannjyang section of the tunnel road. Department of Roads Director-General Keshav Kumar Sharma said the team has started its field survey of the area where the tunnel is to be built. “The team is busy in the field. We don’t know how much time they will take,” he added.
The government plans to build a 5-km-long tunnel to connect Tokha with Gurjubhanjyang and a 24-km-long tunnel to connect Betrawati with Rasuwagadhi. As the Nepali army is currently working on opening the track of the Betrawati-Rasuwagadhi, it wants the Chinese side to focus on the Tokha-Gurjubhanjyang section.
The Kathmandu-Rasuwagadhi tunnel featured on the agreement signed between the two countries during the recent visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping. According to the agreement, China will foot the bills for the study of the project. The team, which is working in Nepal now, will submit its report and authorities will then start work on the DPR. Although the funding modality of the project will only be discussed after the DPR is ready, sources say the government hopes Beijing will finance the strategic project as a handful of Chinese companies have expressed their interest in building the tunnel under the BOOT model.
This is the first time that China has expressed interest in a tunnel road in Nepal. Following the 2015 earthquake, China has present Kyirong as an alternative to the Tatopani border crossing, which Beijing considers as a liability due to the Tibetan issue. After the tunnel comes into operation, traveling to and from China will be easier and this is expected to boost trade and tourism between the two countries.
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