2 firms picked for Ktm-Tarai fast-track road

KATHMANDU, Aug 15 - The government has shortlisted Landmark Worldwide Company and Reliance Infrastructure to construct a 77-km fast-track highway that will link the capital with the tarai.Three companies -- Everest Bank with Gammon India, Landmark Worldwide Company of South Korea and Reliance Infrastructure of India -- had expressed willingness ... ...invest in the Kathmandu-Tarai Fast-Track Road in response to a government invitation for bids last month.The Ministry of Physical Planning and Works (MoPPW) had called for Expression of Interest (EOI) for execution of the proposed four-lane road project under the Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) model under Private Financing in Infrastructure Development and Operations Act."The shortlisted companies have to submit a Request for Proposal (RFP) by January 2009; and construction of the road is expected to begin in April 2009 at the earliest," Tulsi Sitaula, director general of the Department of Roads, told the Post on Thursday. The highway is expected to be completed by 2014."We will select one of the two shortlisted companies after studying the RFP they submit to the government," Sitaula added.According to him, priority will be given to the company that makes a lower bid and proposes lower toll charges on vehicles, among other benefits to the government and people.The contractor can levy 80 percent of the total fuel cost for completing the road as toll charges.Under BOT, the company has to hand over the road to the government after 30 years of operation.A detailed feasibility study of the proposed fast-track route was conducted with technical assistance from the Asian Development Bank. The road will extend from Khokana in Lalitpur to Nijgadh in Bara district. The government will take over land 100 meters in width in the hills and 50 meters in width in the tarai to build the highway.The study has presented two options - a four-lane or a two-lane road on which vehicles can cruise comfortably at 80 km per hour. The estimated costs are Rs 67.47 billion and Rs 50.07 billion respectively at March 2008 prices.According to the report, travel time will be slashed to one and a half hour from the present six to seven hours. The project report has also estimated that fuel costs could be cut by 32 million liters worth Rs 1.8 billion annually.

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