Construction of the Banepa-Sindhuli road is complete and now open for public. The 160-km route goes over the southern rim of the Kathmandu valley and connects it with the mid and eastern Tarai. The road project has been divided into four sections—Bardibas-Sindhuli (37 km), Sindhuli Bazaar-Khurkot (36 km), Khurkot-Nepalthok (37 km) and Nepalthok-Dhulikhel (50 km). Since 1996, the Banepa-Sindhuli road has been built with a grant assistance from Japan. Officials of the Ministry of Physical Planning, Works and Transport Management said that the road project had been progressing at a crawl for lack of resources and difficult terrain. Construction work on all sections has been completed. As of the last fiscal year, Japan provided up to 20.77 billion yen (equivalent to approximately Rs 23 billion) to the project. The road will help reduce the travel distance and time between the Kathmandu valley and the eastern Tarai. Operation of transport services on the route is also expected to stimulate economic and social activities in Kavre, Ramechhap and Sindhuli districts.
