PARBAT: The Infrastructure Development Office in Parbat has confiscated the bank guarantee of a contractor who repeatedly failed to complete a road project even after five years and several deadline extensions.

The project—construction of the Lunkhudeurali–Milanchowk–Balkot–Hoshrangdi road in Mahashila Rural Municipality—had been awarded to PR Om Buddha JV, based in Basundhara, Kathmandu.

The contractor’s mobilization advance guarantee was seized after it failed to finish the work within the agreed time.

According to the contract signed in June 2021, the six-kilometer road was to be completed within 18 months, by March 2023.

However, the contractor only carried out minor groundwork and left the project unfinished.

Despite multiple deadline extensions—most recently until April 2025—no progress was made, said Santosh Aryal, Chief of the Infrastructure Development Office, Parbat.

The project’s total cost was Rs 112.26 million, but only about 35 percent of physical and financial progress was achieved within the given period.

Repeated verbal and written notices failed to bring the contractor back to the site, leading officials to begin the process of terminating the contract altogether.

After the contractor abandoned the project, the partially constructed road has deteriorated severely, causing major inconvenience to vehicles and commuters, said Mahashila Rural Municipality Chairperson Ishwori Prasad Bhusal.

The contractor had already received a payment of Rs 41.3 million before disappearing.

With the guarantee forfeited, authorities have begun additional legal procedures against the contractor.

Locals in wards such as Kafaldanda, Balkot, and Hoshrangdi have complained of daily hardships due to damaged sections and lack of drainage management.

The road, which falls under the Gandaki Province’s Strategic Road Project, remains in disrepair, and residents are demanding strict action against the company responsible for abandoning it.