The proposed Department of Railways (DoR) has sought a budget of Rs 7.30 billion to conduct detailed survey of eight railway projects, including the much-touted East-West Electric Railway.
The government has completed final preparation to convert the Railway Project, which is overseeing works related to railway lines, into the DoR.
“We´ve proposed to spend the major chunk of the proposed budget to conduct detailed project report (DPR) of different railway projects,” a high level source at the Ministry of the Physical Planning and Works (MoPPW) told Republica on Wednesday.
The project has demanded Rs 2.35 billion to prepare DPR of the multi-billion dollar East-West and Kathmandu-Pokhara Electric Railway projects. Similarly, the cost of preparing DPR for railway lines connecting major towns in Tarai to nearby Indian border points has been estimated at Rs 500 million.
“We´ve demanded Rs 500 million to prepare DPR of four railway lines -- Itahari-Biratnagar, Pathlaiya-Birgunj, Butwal-Bhairahawa and Kohalpur-Nepalgunj -- that connect cities along the East-West Electric Railway to nearby bordering towns in the budget for the coming fiscal year,” the source said.
Similarly, the project has proposed a budget of Rs 1.3 billion to provide compensation for land to be acquired for railway lines linking Kakarvitta, Bhairahawa and Nepalgunj with bordering Indian towns. It has further demanded Rs 800 million to prepare DPR of railway line connecting the East-West Railway with Kathmandu-Pokhara Railway.
The Railway Project has proposed a budget of Rs 90 million to conduct feasibility study of small railway lines in northern parts of the country.
“The project has also demanded Rs 200 million for institutional development and Rs 100 million for construction of building for the proposed Railways department,” the source said.
The department has set a target of laying down 4,000 km railway tracks across the country over the next two decades.
Meanwhile, the MPPW has proposed a budget Rs 45 billion for the coming fiscal year. Of the amount, Rs 34 billion has been proposed for the Department of Roads. It has demanded Rs 1.5 billion to provide compensation for land to be acquired for the Kathmandu-Tarai Fast Track project. Similarly, it has demanded a total of Rs 1.7 billion to blacktop some sections of the Mid-hills Highway during 2011/12. The government has allocated Rs 1.21 billion for the highway in the current fiscal year.
Likewise, the MoPPW has also proposed Rs 2 billion for the construction of 50 bridges and Rs 820 million for the maintenance of 100 bridges in 2011/12. It has also demanded Rs 60 million for construction of 80 regional roads and Rs 100 million each for the construction of 23 tourism roads in different parts of the country and Chepang road in Chitwan district.
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