NPBCL gets go-ahead for tunnel highway

The government on Tuesday granted permission to construct Kathmandu-Kulekhani-Hetauda Tunnel Highway to Nepal Purwadhar Bikas Company Limited (NPBCL).
"We are hopeful that the company will be successful to demonstrate the financial closure of the project within a year," Tulasi Prasad Sitaula, secretary at the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport (MoPIT), said.
The government has given go-ahead to the company on condition it achives financial closure within one year.
The project that connects Kathmandu and Hetauda by 58-kilometer is estimated to cost Rs 34.5 billion.
According to Lal Krishna KC, vice president of the company, the project is estimated to be completed in 44 months. "That means the project will come into operation by 2016," KC said.
The company, however, is yet to prepare convincing payback plan.