India and Nepal review GOI-funded Terai Road Project

KATHMANDU: The fourth Joint Project Monitoring Committee on Strengthening of Road Infrastructure in Terai Area of Nepal was held Thursday via video-conferencing.

Anurag Srivastava, Joint Secretary (Northern Division) of the Ministry of External Affairs of India, and Keshab Kumar Sharma, Joint Secretary from Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport of Government of Nepal (GON), co-chaired the fourth Joint Project Monitoring Committee (JPMC) meetings.

The JPMC meeting reviewed the overall implementation of the Government of India (GOI) funded Terai Roads project in Nepal and expressed satisfaction at the good progress achieved with the completion of 13 out of 14 road packages. Both sides noted despite the challenges posed by Covid pandemic, the project made good progress and is in the final stages of completion.

The GOI had committed Rs 800 crore (INR 500 crore) in 2016 for construction of 10 roads (divided into 14 packages/contracts) with a total length of 306 km in the Terai region of Nepal. These roads connect the East-West Highway to Indian border, thereby increasing the ease of connectivity between the people of the two countries.

Both sides noted 13 out of 14 road packages were already handed over to the people of Nepal jointly by Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport of Nepal and Ambassador of India to Nepal on March 31, 2021.

During the meeting, the Nepali side thanked GOI for the continued support for development of infrastructure in Nepal, particularly in the area of road connectivity. The Indian side expressed its happiness at the fruitful cooperation with GON and the joint efforts made towards strengthening connectivity infrastructure between the two countries.

The meeting was held in a friendly and cordial atmosphere with both the delegations agreeing that the next JPMC meeting would be held on a mutually convenient date as per requirement.