Construction of the Dodhara Chandani dry port in Kanchanpur district has reached 26 percent completion, according to Anish KC, an engineer with the Nepal Intermodal Transport Development Committee, the body implementing the project. Work at the site began on 24 December 2025 and is being carried out over a construction period of 30 months, with the facility estimated to cost about Rs 2.37 billion Indian rupees. KC expressed confidence that once operational, the dry port will boost economic activity across the Sudurpaschim region, bringing a long-anticipated piece of trade infrastructure to Nepal's far west.
Steady progress in the early months of construction
The 26 percent completion figure was provided by engineer Anish KC of the Nepal Intermodal Transport Development Committee and was reported by both RatoPati and Khabarhub in February 2026. The update comes barely two months after construction formally began at the Dodhara Chandani site on 24 December 2025, marking the first major progress milestone publicly confirmed for the project.
If the 30-month construction period were divided evenly, work completed in the first two months would amount to roughly 6 to 7 percent of the total. Reaching 26 percent within that timeframe therefore represents a notable early surge in physical progress, although the pace of large infrastructure projects can vary considerably as construction moves beyond its initial phases.
The Nepal Intermodal Transport Development Committee is the government body responsible for developing intermodal transport infrastructure, and its engineers are providing progress assessments as work advances at the Kanchanpur site. A detailed breakdown of expenditure incurred so far was not included in the initial reporting.
Project at a glance
- Project: Dry port at Dodhara Chandani
- Location: Dodhara Chandani, Kanchanpur district, Sudurpaschim Province
- Implementing body: Nepal Intermodal Transport Development Committee
- Construction start: 24 December 2025
- Construction period: 30 months
- Estimated cost: About Rs 2.37 billion Indian rupees
- Physical progress: 26 percent complete
A 30-month timeline pointing toward 2028
Because work began on 24 December 2025 and the construction period has been fixed at 30 months, the project is working toward a completion point around mid-2028, provided the schedule holds. The project's estimated cost stands at about Rs 2.37 billion Indian rupees, the figure cited by the committee's engineer in the recent updates.
Meeting the 30-month deadline will require sustained momentum through every stage of the build. Large infrastructure undertakings in Nepal frequently contend with challenges ranging from procurement processes to seasonal weather, which is one reason the committee's public progress updates are being watched as an indicator of whether the Dodhara Chandani project can stay on course. With the project now past the quarter-completion mark well within the first months of the timeline, maintaining that early pace will be key to delivering the port within its planned window.
What the dry port could mean for Sudurpaschim
KC expressed confidence that the completed port will boost economic activity in the Sudurpaschim region. The statement reflects the core purpose of a dry port: an inland terminal where goods can be consolidated, stored and cleared for onward movement without requiring direct access to a seaport. For a landlocked country such as Nepal, facilities of this kind are designed to bring cargo handling and related trade processes closer to the businesses that use them, reducing the time and cost involved in moving goods to and from markets.
For Kanchanpur, which lies along Nepal's border with India in the far west of the country, the facility is expected to anchor trade-related services in an area that has long sought stronger infrastructure to support commerce. That framing aligns with the assessment offered by KC, who said the port will act as a driver of economic activity across the Sudurpaschim region once it comes into operation. If those expectations are met, the dry port would stand among the most significant infrastructure investments in the province, with effects likely to be felt by traders, transporters and local businesses that depend on the smooth movement of goods.
With just over a quarter of the work completed and the bulk of construction still ahead within the 30-month window, attention will now turn to whether the project can maintain its early pace through to its targeted completion in 2028. Further updates on both physical and financial progress are expected as work continues at the Dodhara Chandani site in Kanchanpur.
