Agenda of PM Dahal’s China visit: Nepal to propose China to fund DPR of Tokha-Chhahare Tunnel

Nepal has an extensive list of requests that it hopes to receive assistance from China during Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s upcoming trip to China. One of them is getting Chinese assistance for a detailed project report (DPR) of Tokha-Chhahare Tunnel. 

Officials from Nepal’s Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport (MoPIT) stated that Nepal plans to ask China to bear the expenses for conducting the Detailed Project Report (DPR) of the tunnel. According to Arjun Jung Thapa, joint secretary at MoPIT, the ministry has already communicated with the Foreign Ministry to include the Tokha- Chhahare Tunnel in the agendas of the Prime Minister’s visit. 

On 13 October 2019, Nepal and China entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU), outlining China’s assistance in constructing two segments of the road connecting Kathmandu and Rasuwagadhi. The first stretch of the road will span 32 kilometers, starting from Tokha in Kathmandu and extending to Chhahare in Nuwakot, including a 4.17-kilometer tunnel. The second section, spanning 19 kilometers, will connect Mailung with Syaphrubesi in Rasuwa district.

The road project serves as a vital link for connectivity between Nepal and China, and upon its completion, it will lead to a reduction in both the distance and the travel time between Kathmandu and Rasuwagadhi.

According to the Department of Road, the Tokha-Chhahare tunnel project has received significant priority from the government in the current fiscal year. Out of the total budget of Rs 1.94bn allocated for the tunnel road development program in the 2023/24 federal budget, Rs 1.25bn has been earmarked for the Tokha-Chhahare tunnel road. However, the detailed project report (DPR) and the environmental impact assessment (EIA) report for the Tokha-Chhahare road are yet to be prepared. Currently, a technical team from the China Communication Construction Company is conducting a study of the tunnel. 

The upgradation of roads linking the northern neighbor has also been proposed by the MoPIT. According to Thapa, the ministry has sent a proposal for upgrading three highways—Karnali Corridor, Koshi Corridor, and Araniko Highway to be included in the Prime Minister’s agenda. 

Thapa said that the ministry has forwarded the list of road projects linking with the Chinese border and the Tokha-Chhahare Tunnel to the Foreign Ministry. “It is up to the Foreign Ministry to finalize them,” he said. 

Among them is the upgradation of the 290-kilometer Hilsa-Khulalu segment of the Karnali Corridor. According to the department, the track opening is left in the 3-kilometer stretch of this segment. 

The ministry has also included the upgradation of the Dhulikhel-Tatopani segment of the Araniko Highway. The ministry has proposed to upgrade the 84-kilometer segment into a two-lane road with Chinese assistance. The 144-kilometer Araniko Highway was built with Chinese assistance in 1967. 

The blacktopping of a 162-kilometer road in the Koshi Corridor is amongst the road projects where Nepal is seeking Chinese assistance. Currently, the Nepal Army is doing track opening of this road.

The construction of the Khutiya-Dipayal-Chainpur-Taklakot road is a new road project for which the government is looking for Chinese help.