GAINDAKOT: The eastern section of the Narayanghat-Butwal road expansion project has achieved a major milestone with all blacktopping and concrete paving work on the main highway officially completed as of Friday.

According to Project Engineer and Information Officer Shiva Khanal, the final layers of the pavement—including the binder course, wearing course, and concrete sections—are fully finished, pushing the overall physical progress of the 65-kilometer eastern stretch from Gaindakot to Daunne to 92.38 percent.

Funded by a concessional loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the overall 113-kilometer highway upgrade was contracted to China State Construction Engineering Corporation in 2019 but faced prolonged delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, utility relocations, and forest clearance issues.

With most major bridges, culverts, and service lanes already built, traffic is now moving smoothly along the main lanes, leaving only minor road safety, marking, and landscaping tasks before the eastern section is fully handed over.

Once entirely completed, this heavily congested vital artery of the East-West Highway will significantly reduce travel times and accidents, bolstering trade, transit, and tourism across the Gandaki, Lumbini, and Bagmati provinces.