Master plan to construct metro rail and tunnel way in Kathmandu Valley

Kathmandu. KATHMANDU: The government has prepared a 25-year new Kathmandu Valley Urban Transport Master Plan to address the increasing traffic congestion in the Kathmandu Valley and manage unmanaged transportation in the country. The plan was prepared by the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport with technical assistance of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and it will be implemented after the approval of the draft of the project.

According to the master plan, the population of Kathmandu Valley is expected to reach around 4.3 million by 2050. This includes 22 infrastructure projects and 13 transport improvement programmes.

The most ambitious proposal of the project is the construction of a 14.6-kilometer-long metro rail from Ratnapark to Bhaktapur. It is proposed that some part of the metro will be built underground and the rest in the sky.

Likewise, an ambitious plan has been put forward to construct an underground tunnel way along the Gaushala-Chabahil section. As per the master plan, the tunnel will be 1,563 metres long. It will be built on two levels under the existing four-lane road. Vehicles coming to north (Chabahil) from the upper level tunnel and those going to the lower level to south (Gaushala) will ply. The tunnel will have a total width of 15.5 meters. There will be two wide paths at the top and bottom for the vehicles to run.

Likewise, underpass, upgradation of Dhobi Khola and Bishnumati corridors, construction of new bridges and improvement in traffic management at 23 major crossroads are also included in the list.

The master plan proposes to expand cycle lanes to promote cycling and develop a 160-km emergency road network for easy mobility during disasters.

In order to systematize public transport, it has been suggested to form 5 or 6 big companies by merging many small transport committees that are currently in operation. Similarly, Thamel, Kathmandu Durbar Square and Lalitpur Durbar Square will be made car-free zones respectively. The plan also includes a proposal to build a utility corridor to manage the electricity, telephone and internet cables underground.

This is the fourth Kathmandu Transport Master Plan supported by JICA in Nepal. The first master plan prepared in 1993 (2050 BS) had put forward the concept of construction of the Ring Road. In 2012 and 2017, new studies were conducted, but many of the plans were not implemented. This time, a master plan has been prepared with the goal of modernizing and systematizing the transportation system of Kathmandu Valley in the long term.

Many people do not believe that the experience of the previous master plan will also implement the current ambitious plan. However, Gyan Raj Lamsal, information officer at the Ministry of Infrastructure Development, claims that the plan will be implemented as it is the need of the hour and a draft of a participatory plan.