Minister for Physical Infrastructure Development Sunil Lamsal says contracts for two bridge projects in Bajura have been cancelled and a new construction process has begun. The projects are the Maure bridge over the Budhiganga River, intended to connect Budhiganga and Triveni municipalities, and a bridge over the Thulisanghu stream on the Martadi-Ghatmuna road section near Martadi in Badimalika Municipality. Both contracts were signed about five years ago with three-year completion deadlines, but construction work never began.
Two projects, no construction started
The Maure bridge project concerns a crossing over the Budhiganga River between Budhiganga and Triveni municipalities. Despite the contract being signed about five years ago and carrying a three-year deadline, work did not start. The cancellation ends the existing contract arrangement for the project, while the new construction process is intended to move the work forward through a fresh process.
The second cancelled contract was for a bridge over the Thulisanghu stream along the Martadi-Ghatmuna road section. The site is near Martadi, within Badimalika Municipality. As with the Maure project, the contract had been signed about five years earlier and included a three-year completion period, but construction never began. The cancellation therefore affects a separate bridge project at a different location in Bajura, not a single contract covering both crossings.
The two projects share a central problem: the agreed construction periods elapsed without work starting. The available information does not specify why construction failed to begin, whether contractors sought extensions, or what steps were taken during the period covered by the contracts. It also does not give the contract values or identify the companies involved. The stated reason for ending the existing arrangements is the failure of the projects to progress into construction within the planned period.
New construction process initiated
Lamsal said the contracts have been cancelled and a new process has been initiated. That marks a change from the earlier arrangements, but no further details have been provided about the process, its timetable, or when construction is expected to start. There is also no stated completion date for either bridge under the new process.
For the Maure project, the planned connection is between Budhiganga and Triveni municipalities. For the Thulisanghu project, the bridge is located on the Martadi-Ghatmuna road section near Martadi. These descriptions identify the intended locations and route, but no additional information has been announced about the bridges’ design, length, cost, or expected traffic capacity.
The cancellation and restart process do not, by themselves, establish when either project will be completed. The next milestone will depend on the new construction process moving ahead and a fresh arrangement being made for the works. Until details about procurement, a new contractor, and a schedule are released, the construction start and delivery dates remain unclear.
The decision addresses two long-stalled bridge contracts in Bajura, both of which had passed their original three-year deadlines without any work beginning. Lamsal’s statement confirms that the previous contracts have been ended and that a new process is under way. Further information will be needed to determine how quickly the two projects can advance from that process to construction.
