Forty-one years after the first shovel hit the ground, another 22 km section (4.75m wide) of the Banepa-Bardibas road has been completed. The 158-km stretch to link Banepa, east of Kathmandu, and Bardibas on the East-West Highway in the tarai to the south-east, has been on and off the drawing boards for the past four decades. The Banepa to Bakundebesi section was opened to traffic last week.

The project has been a priority of the Nepali Congress because BP Koirala initiated its construction. But it was no longer a priority after the royal coup of 1960. It was back on track again after the Nepali Congress came back to power after 1990.

The road is to be built in four phases. The first 37 km section linking Sindhuli Bazar and Bardibas was opened to traffic in 1997. A track has been completed to link the 39 km stretch from Sindhuli Bazar to Khurkot, as has a 32-km stretch to link Khurkot and Nepalthok. The Banepa-Bardibas road is expected to be completed by 2003.

The road will help open the hinterland of Sindhuli, Ramechhap and Kavrepalanchok districts and also ease traffic on the Prithvi Highway. Upon completion, Bardibas will be just 170 km from Kathmandu. The distance from Kathmandu to Bardibas on the East-West Highway is now 350 km. Japan provided Rs 5.88 billion for the construction of two sections of the road, while the government chipped in Rs 185 million for land acquisition and administrative costs, and Rs 10 million for maintenance.