BUTWAL: The government has extended the deadline for the Narayanghat-Butwal road expansion project for the fourth time, granting an additional year to the Chinese contractor, China State Engineering Corporation Ltd.

According to Engineer Shiva Khanal, Information Officer at the Eastern Section Office of the Project Directorate, the deadline for the Gaindakot-Daunne (Eastern Section) has been extended till July 23, 2026, while the Daunne-Butwal (Western Section) deadline is now set till July 21, 2026.

Though the contractor had requested a 1.5-year extension, the agreement was reached to complete 90% of the remaining work within a year. The project’s previous deadline expired on July 24, but formal approval processes delayed the issuance of the extension letter until now.

As of the third extension deadline, the project’s physical progress stands at 70%, according to Engineer Rakesh Jha from the contractor’s side. The 113-km road is being constructed in two segments. By the end of last fiscal year, 100 km of one-sided blacktopping was completed, but only 80 km has been blacktopped on both sides.

Daunne, the most challenging segment, is seeing accelerated progress in road concreting, aided by reduced rainfall in recent weeks. Currently, 800 meters in the East and 1.3 km in the West have been concreted, with plans to concrete an additional 4 km and 3 km respectively.

The Directorate aims to complete blacktopping in Daunne before Dashain.

The project, costing Rs 17 billion, envisions expanding the highway to 6 lanes in urban areas, 4 lanes in forest areas, and 3 lanes in Daunne.