Kalikot: The government has agreed to award contracts for the much-discussed Karnali Corridor (Khulalu–Hilsa) Road Project, securing a budget of Rs 6.117 billion for its upgrade and expansion.
According to project officials, an additional Rs 3.157 billion has been allocated for the upgrading of a 41-kilometer section covering Khulalu–Kot, Bhukka Khola–Piluchaur in Kalikot, and Tumcha–Sallisalla in Humla.
Similarly, under the North–South Hilsa–Simkot Road Project, the Ministry of Finance has approved a budget of Rs 2.337 billion for the upgrading of a 60-kilometer stretch, including the Kharpunath–Kharikhet and Kharikhet–Sallisalla sections, said Bisundas Lama, chief of the Khulalu–Sallisalla Road Project.
Lama said that with financial resources secured for blacktopping the Karnali Corridor into a two-lane road, the contract process will begin soon.
“The Ministry of Finance has provided consent to the Department of Roads along with assurance of the required resources,” he said. “The contracts will be awarded once the department grants approval to the concerned road office.”
A separate budget of Rs 624.3 million has also been allocated for the construction of six road bridges along the corridor from Khulalu in Kalikot to Humla. Due to the absence of bridges, passenger and cargo vehicles are currently forced to cross rivers at considerable risk.
Bridges are planned at several locations, including Rahagad Khulalu Khola, Sannigad, Fugad, Bhukka Khola in Bajura, and Kuwadi, among others.
Previously, the Department of Roads had already initiated contract work worth Rs 4 billion for the upgrading of a 50-kilometer section from Piluchaur in Bajura to Kuwadi Khola in Humla. The Ministry of Finance has now formally assured the required resources for implementation.
The Road Planning Office under the Department of Roads is expected to complete the multi-year contract process by the upcoming mid-July. Project chief Lama said efforts are being made to complete all remaining works within the next two years.
Considered a lifeline for people in Karnali and Bajura, the Karnali Corridor took nearly one and a half decades to open due to budget shortages and construction delays.
The Nepal Army opened the 130-kilometer stretch from Khulalu in Kalikot to Sallisalla in Humla, including a challenging seven-kilometer rocky section. According to the Karnali Corridor Road Planning Office in Bajura, the Department of Roads has already constructed an additional 139 kilometers from Humla to Hilsa through various contracts.
Of the total 508-kilometer route connecting Jamunaha on the Indian border to Hilsa on the Chinese border, 347 kilometers fall within the Khulalu–Hilsa section.
Meanwhile, parts of the existing road are expected to be submerged by the proposed Fugad Hydropower Project in Kalikot. Fugad Hydro has already begun surveying an alternative alignment for a new track. Until the new alignment is completed, only maintenance work will continue in the affected sections, while preparations are underway to proceed with upgrading contracts in non-submerged areas.
Jayapati Rokaya, a member of parliament from Humla, described the government’s commitment of more than Rs 6 billion for the Karnali Corridor as positive news for Karnali residents.
“The Karnali Corridor is the gateway to prosperity for this region,” he said. “Once the road is blacktopped, economic activities will increase significantly. Indian pilgrims traveling to Mansarovar will also be able to use this route.”
Kantipur
