Work on the 546km Thimphu-Trashigang highway will complete within 11th Plan period.

MoWHS: With the budget for widening of the 546km Thimphu-Trashigang highway approved by government of India, widening work will commence soon.

During a consultative meeting held yesterday with contractors on the scope of the widening and upgradation work of the highway, works and human settlement minister, Dorji Choden, said that all contractors should be responsible and maintain the quality of work.

“Contractors should know that the works aren’t given as kidu,” the minister said.

The estimated budget for the widening works stands at about Nu 7.2B.  The fund for the upgradation project was approved under project-tied assistance (PTA), after the widening proposal was agreed upon during the third plan talk held in Thimphu on September 11.

Except for the widening of the Semtokha-Wangdue highway that is still under progress, the Indian government approved 60 percent of the total estimated budget for the rest of the widening works.  The remaining budget, according to ministry officials, will be approved once the widening works begin.

The tentative approved budget for the 11th Plan is Nu 4.6B for the highway widening works.

Works and human settlement officials said that the widening works from Semtokha to Trashigang would be carried out in six stretches.

Project Dantak will execute the 52km widening from Trashigang-Yadi, while the department of roads (DoR) regional offices will execute the remaining work in each region.

Works and human settlement secretary, Dasho (Dr) Sonam Tenzin, during the presentation yesterday, said that the widening work should be completed within the 11th Plan and contractors should plan accordingly.
To assess the progress of the work, the ministry will conduct a quarterly meeting with the contractors.

Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay told contractors not to bid low just to get the contract work, as they can’t work with low capital.

“The quality of the Thimphu-Tashigang highway, which has been repaired several times, still lacks quality,” lyonchhoen said.

Contractors were also informed to visit the sites before bidding for the work, so they don’t have problems later.

Initially, the widening works were planned till Chuserbu owing to lack of fund.  The widening work in some section between Semtokha and Wangdue (Thinleygang) began during the last financial year.

Officials said that chief engineers of the concerned regional DoR offices would brief contractors on the number of contract packages that would be floated.

Since the project needs to be completed within three years, officials said works would be tendered.  Yesterday’s meeting was expected to prepare contractors intending to bid for work and to acquaint them with the sites. It was also to prepare them to mobilise all the required machineries and equipment.

DoR officials said the North East-West highway is widely used by people of the eastern region and, in recent years, vehicles plying on the highway have increased drastically.

The poor condition of the highway is also blamed for the low tourist arrivals in the east.  Officials said that the widening work is expected to facilitate more tourists and provide them a smooth ride that could be promoted as a product diversification by itself.