December 11: The government has received the preliminary report on Kerung-Kathmandu Railway prepared by China. The Chinese side handed over the report to Nepal during a meeting of Nepal-China Railway Operation Committee held in Kathmandu on Monday, December 10.
According to Rastriya Samachar Samiti (RSS), the vice chair of the National Railway Authority of China Aan Lu Tsung submitted the preliminary report regarding the construction of the Kerung-Kathmandu Railway to the secretary of the Ministry for Physical Infrastructures and Transportation Management (MoPITM), Madhusudan Adhikari.
The study was initiated earlier this year in May.
According to MoPITM Spokesperson Amin Chitrakar, the four-day meeting of Nepal-China Railway Cooperation Committee is exploring means and ways to forward the construction of the railway track. The meeting will conclude on Thursday, December 13.
Keshav Sharma, joint-secretary at the ministry, informed New Business Age that the meeting has agreed to prepare the Detailed Project Report of the multi-billion dollars project at the earliest.
The Chinese technical team is scheduled make a field visit to the proposed railway track which will be 80 kilometres long and would be completed within eight years at an estimated cost of over Rs 300 billion.
According to RSS, the Chinese team was scheduled to leave for Rasuwa on a field trip Tuesday while the team would set out for Pokhara on Wednesday to study the Kathmandu-Pokhara Railway.
A Chinese Company had earlier conducted the feasibility study of the Kathmandu-Pokhara Railway which would measure 171 kilometres.
Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli in his last official visit to China in June this year had met with the Chinese leadership where significant understanding was reached with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Li Keqiang to further expanding bilateral cooperation in various fields including cross border railway connectivity.
Immediately after that, the Chinese team had conducted a field study for the railway.
The study had covered various aspects such as geological studies of places across Kathmandu, Nuwakot, Trishuli in Nepal to Kerung in China and their geographic positions as well as marking the landmarks among others, according to RSS.
The railway is likely to be constructed in tunnel system given the geographical complexity in both countries.