The China Railway 25 Bureau Group of Co. Ltd of China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) has completed geological investigation of the proposed monorail project along the 27-km Ring Road in the Kathmandu Valley.
Works on the geological survey have been completed, now the company will focus on environment impact analysis (EIA) and on dealing the works so as to prepare the detailed project report (DPR) within the stipulated time, said Nabin Pokharel, Nepal’s’ representatives at the CRCC.
“I have forwarded a letter of the CRCC regarding the latest update on the progress of DPR works to the KMC, Pokharel told The Rising Nepal. The CRCC had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) to prepare the DPR of monorail project on December 13, 2018 with a commitment of completing the work within the period of one year.
After the completion of geological investigation, the EIA and dealing works will begin by hiring consultant, Pokharel said. As per the legal provision, the company should hire the local consultant for conducting the EIA and the company’s own resources and foreign consultants will be used for dealing works, he said.
Works are in progress so as to complete the DPR within the given period of one year, Pokharel said.
Earlier, the Chinese state-owned construction company had submitted the feasibility study report of the project within four months, two months before the given deadline. It had submitted the feasibility report on September 13, 2018. According to a preliminary report the estimated construction cost of the monorail project will be Rs. 116 billion.
Bidhya Sundar Shakya, Mayor of KMC, said that the estimated cost and the construction period of the monorail project would be finalised only after the preparation of the DPR.
“The CRCC is working to prepare the DPR; all the details about the project will be made public only after the submission of the DPR report by the company,” Shakya said.
He said that the tender for constructing the monorail project under build, own, operate and transfer (BooT) model would be awarded through an open competition after getting DPR from the CRCC.
The CRCC will also take part in the bidding process, if other companies get selected through the bidding competition, the winners will have to buy the DPR from CRCC, he said.
