Vinay Mohan Kwatra, Ambassador of India to Nepal and Basant Kumar Nembang, Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport, jointly dedicated to the people of Nepal the Terai Roads built with Government of India grant assistance.

Today’s joint dedication of 13 of 14 Terai Roads packages to the People of Nepal by Ambassador of India to Nepal and Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport of Nepal, the India and Nepal bilateral relationship has seen another milestone in the development cooperation between the two countries.

Under a Memorandum of Understanding between India and Nepal regarding the strengthening of road infrastructure in the Terai region of Nepal, the Government of Nepal identified ten priority roads to be built under Government of India funding of NR 800 cr.

These Terai roads are also called as Hulaki Raj Marg and connect major towns located on the East-West highway with the India-Nepal border. These ten roads are located in seven border districts of Province 1, 2 and 5 of Nepal and provide a smooth travel experience to people of over 284 wards, 149 villages, 18 gaunpalikas, 18 Nagar Palikas and 1 sub-metropolitan city.

The Government of India funded ten Terai roads in Nepal that are built as per the specifications prescribed by the Department of Roads of Nepal. Each road has a seven-meter carriageway and two meters of shoulders on both sides. The roads also include drainage, footpaths with railings inhabitation areas, road signage boards, road markings and other road furniture. Under the project over 652 culverts and over 111 kilometers of drainage network have also been built.

The project has been implemented under the ‘Government of India funding and Government of Nepal implementation’ modality. For contractual purposes, the ten roads were divided into 14 packages and the Department of Roads of Nepal awarded 14 contracts during the period October 2016 to November 2017 for their construction. The specifications for the construction of these roads were prescribed in the Detailed Project Report finalized by DoR of Nepal. It also engaged the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (NHIDCL), a Government of India undertaking as the Project Management Consultant for the project and the consultancy fee was paid by the Government of India from the NR 800 cr grant for the project.

The Government of India-funded Terai roads project has helped strengthen road infrastructures in the Terai region of Nepal and further boost the people-to-people relationships between the border areas of the two countries. These completed Hulaki Roads also complement the other major border infrastructure developed by India in Nepal such as Integrated Check Posts at Birgunj and Biratnagar and cross border railway lines. The Government of India funded a cross-border railway line between Jaynagar in India and Kurtha in Nepal has also been completed and is ready for handing over to the Government of Nepal for running passenger train operations by of Nepal. In this regard, both sides are working on completing the final preparations for passenger train operations.

Ambassador of India and Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport dedicated 13 of the 14 packages which have been completed and are already being used by the people of the areas since over a year. These newly completed roads have been providing a smooth travel experience to the people of the Terai region. The Postal Highway Directorate has issued taking over certificates in respect of five of the completed packages and is completing the documentation in respect of the remaining.

During their remarks, Ambassador and Minister thanked officials of the Postal Highway Directorate of the Department of Roads of Nepal and the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd. and above all the people of India for their assistance and cooperation in the completion of the project.