After a month of inauguration, the much awaited Nagadhunga tunnel route has been opened for private vehicles. From Monday, private vehicles such as cars, jeeps and vans with a passenger capacity of up to 9 people will be allowed to travel through the tunnel. According to information provided by Sanjay Panthi, Divisional Engineer of the Nagadhunga project, only emergency vehicles were allowed to enter the tunnel for a month of its initial operation. The tunnel has also been opened for private vehicles since Monday. This tunnel route, which was initially operated as a one-way test, will be operated in both directions from Tuesday.
Infrastructure Development Minister Sunil Lamsal inaugurated this tunnel on July 11. At present, private vehicles will be allowed to enter the tunnel only for certain times. The tunnel will operate from 9 am to 6 pm today (Monday). On the same day, the flyover road at Gurjudhara also became operational. Ganesh Bahadur KC, Executive Director of the Road Board has informed that the fee will be applied regularly on the tunnel road from October 1st. Since four-wheelers and private vehicles have been brought into operation for the time being, larger and more loaded vehicles will also be brought into operation. From October, all types of vehicles will be able to travel from Kathmandu to Sisnekhola in Dhading using the tunnel.
According to the tariff, when entering and leaving Kathmandu, cars and vans will have to pay Rs 65 and 60, minibuses and tippers will have to pay Rs 150 and 80, buses and trucks will have to pay Rs 260 and 200, and heavy trucks will have to pay Rs 600 and 250. Certain rules must be followed while driving inside the tunnel. Rules such as not driving at a speed of more than 40 km per hour, turning on headlights, not stopping in tunnels and not overtaking have been implemented.
The country's first organized transport tunnel constructed with an investment of 29 billion rupees was inaugurated on July 11, 7 years after the foundation stone was laid. Its foundation stone was laid by the then Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on 4th Kartik 2076. The construction work was delayed due to the covid-19 epidemic, compensation disputes, etc.
The break through of the 'rescue tunnel' was done on July 22, 2080 and the break through of the main tunnel was done 10 months later on June 3, 2081. The length of the main tunnel is 2.68 km and the length of the emergency tunnel is 2.557 km. Pedestrians, two-wheelers, and vehicles carrying inflammable substances such as diesel and petrol will not be allowed to enter this tunnel.
There was an agreement to invest 16.5 billion rupees by the Japanese government and 6 billion rupees by the Nepalese government in the construction of this project. Later, when the construction cost increased, Japan provided an additional 5 billion in loan assistance. Japan's Hazma Ando Corporation took the construction contract for this project.
