Nepalese minister gives go ahead for construction of four new bridges while planning to demolish them.
Across the global demolition industry, contractors are crying out for more work. Promises from Governments, public spending initiatives and other campaigns have largely failed to return the industry to its pre-recession workload levels.
So we were intrigued to read a story from one of our favourite newspapers – The Himalayan Times – reporting that a Nepalese minister has given the green light to the construction of four new bridges while, at the same time, he is planning for their subsequent demolition.
Of course, this is not a demolition job creation scheme, but merely a quirk of planning laws in the mountain region.
Minister for Physical Planning and Works Top Bahadur Rayamajhi today said he is in favour of building four overhead bridges in four places — New Baneshwor, Kalanki, Gongabu and Machhapokharai — and dismantling the same ones if need arises.
Rayamajhi’s decision goes against the take of Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), the Department of Roads and local people against the project, and supports a Supreme Court ruling that ordered the government to allow the private company, Innovative Concept Nepal, to build the bridges.
The locals of these areas maintain that the project will misuse the public land in the name of building overhead bridges and let commercial outlets operate from the flyovers. While the DoR, which plans to build flyovers in busy intersections, is against building such infrastructure along the Ring Road.
Despite opposition from several quarters, the Kathmandu Metropolitan City had given permission to the ICN to construct the four structures.
Minister Rayamajhi, speaking at an interaction at the Reporters’ Club today, said they would allow the private company to construct the overhead bridges as per the SC order. “However, we will have to demolish them for turning the Ring Road into six-lane,” he said.
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