Nepali gov’t starts designing 400 bridges
KATHMANDU, June 8 (Xinhua) — Nepali government has started the designing of 400 bridges to be built in the next fiscal year in around five dozen districts.
According to the Department of Roads (DoR), 70 percent of bridges are for local roads and rest for the Strategic Road Network (SRN). As the government could not carry out design work in the last and current fiscal years, the number grew significantly this year. Generally, DoR designs 100 bridges a year on an average.
As per the DoR plan, the bridges’ feasibility study, detailed engineering survey, soil investigation and complete designs of bridges will be carried out in 40 packages after hiring eligible consultants. Each consultant will preparing designs of 10 bridges.
The department on June 5 invited technical and financial proposals from six shortlisted consultants.
A DoR official was quoted by Friday’s The Kathmandu Post daily as saying the increased demand for bridges fueled by road expansion across the country and political pressure for building bridges too have made the number of brides whose designs are to be carried out grow.
However, as per past trends, only a few designs are executed no matter how many designs are done due to the lack of budget. The official said it takes up to 10 years to build a bridge after the completion of design work, while some plans are dumped after government changes.
“Many bridges are designed on local roads based on political pressure,” said a high-level official at the Ministry of Physical Planning, Works and Transport Management. <Xinhua>
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