Additional Rs 300m sought for Ktm-Tarai fast track

The Ministry of Physical Panning and Works (MoPPW) has said it will need additional Rs 590 million to complete the land acquisition -- barring 8 km stretch in Khokana, Lalitpur -- for Kathmandu-Tarai Fast Track Project and has sought Rs 300 million from the Ministry of Finance to pay compensations to landowners during this fiscal year.
So far, the ministry has received Rs 550 million for paying compensatin to landowners in Bara, Makawanpur, Kathmandu and Lalitpur districts along the fast track.
"Though the actual funds requirement for completing the track opening is much higher, we have asked for additional Rs 300 million for this fiscal year," said Tulasi Prasad Sitaula, secretary at MoPPW.
He also told that acquisition of land along the stretch of 8 km in Khokna has become a tough job as locals are demanding huge compensations. Though MoPPW has not done the exact valuation, it has estimated that acquiring land for the 8-km stretch for the six-lane expressway could cost more than Rs 1 billion.
Given that the locals have refused to compromise on the compensation amount, MoPPW has already reported to the Prime Minister´s Office that it will not be able to open the track within the current fiscal year.
As for the fund disbursed so far, officials said MoPPW was using the amount to compensate landowners in Kathmandu and Lalitpur districts. "The initial plan was to distribute compensation to landowners in Makawanpur. But after they agreed on the terms of compensation they agreed to wait for some time so we decided to pay compensations to landowners in Kathmandu and Lalitpur first," said the source.
The government had allocated Rs 400 million for land acquisition in the 2011/12 budget. The Ministry of Finance had released additional Rs 150 million for the project a few weeks ago.
"I think MoF will provide us the amount we have sought," said Sitaula, referring to the prime minister´s commitment that the government would make sure national priority projects do not suffer from funds crunch.
The proposed Kathmandu-Tarai Fast Track is 76 km and so far MoPPW has opened 51 km.
The Ministry even initiated works to prepare the guidelines in order to screen investors in the project that will be developed under build-operate-own-transfer (BOOT) policy.
The Asian Development Bank that studied financial viability of the expressway in 2008 had estimated that the project would cost around Rs 67 billion.