May 6, 2005
 Dhulikhel-Nepalthok Section of Sindhuli Road Opened
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The Ministry of Physical Planning and Works and the Embassy of Japan, have jointly opened the Sindhuli Road (Section IV: Dhulikhel - Nepalthok) for road traffic movement today, which has been implemented under the grant assistance of the Government of Japan.
Until opening of this road section, the people living in the area adjoining this road section have faced various difficulties due to the lack of road access. Today, with the opening of this 50km long new road section, they have a better access to the markets of Dhulikhel and to the rest of the country through the Araniko Highway.
Road access benefits the people and community living in the adjoining area through providing access to basic human needs as well as promoting agricultural activities and local industries, which ultimately helps contribute to alleviate poverty in the country.
Furthermore, once the road is completed in its full length, it contributes enormously strengthen the road networks in Nepal connecting Kathmandu and the Terai Plain. It is expected that it will benefit the economic activities in national as well as regional levels, thus contributing to the welfare of the People of Nepal.
The project for Construction of Sindhuli Road has been materialized with the expectation of benefiting the people and communities living in the neighboring areas, and the People of Nepal as a whole. As a dedicated development partner and close friend of Nepal, Japan has been extending its support to the Government of Nepal since 1969 in order to increase the well-being of the Nepalese people and to foster a long lasting friendly and cooperative relationship between the two nations. In line with this, since 1996, the Government of Japan has been extending grant assistance to His Majesty's Government of Nepal for the construction of Sindhuli Road. Till date, out of the 158km long this highway, 99.5km has been opened for traffic movement and, for its construction, the Government of Japan has extended approximately 13 billion Japanese Yen (equivalent to 7.6 billion Nepalese Rupees).
Furthermore, in order to ensure the local communities receive multi-fold benefits from the construction of Sindhuli Road, the Government of Japan has also extended Grant Assistance for Grassroots Project Scheme (GGP Grant) to the local institutions. Till date, three GGP Grants have been extended to the Kavrepalanchok district. These Grants were for construction of a Multipurpose Community Ground at Dhulikhel Municipality, construction of Mangal Jan Bijaya High School at Mangaltar and establishment of a Milk Chilling Center at Bhakundebesi.
In addition to the above, the Government of Japan has recently handed over the Power Transmission Sub-station (K3 Sub-station) to Nepal Electricity Authority, which has been constructed under the project for the Extension and Reinforcement of Power Transmission and Distribution System in Kathmandu Valley (Phase III) in order to reduce the problems such as over-loading and excessive voltage drop on distribution system. This Project is expected to directly benefit around 130,000 people as well as the hospitals and schools in the center of Kathmandu Valley through enhancing the reliability of power supply.
To address the solid waste management issues of the Kathmandu Valley in all five municipalities, namely, Kathmandu Metropolitan City, Lalitpur Sub-Metropolitan City, Bhaktapur Municipality, Madhyapur Thimi Municipality and Kirtipur Municipality, the Government of Japan has dispatched a JICA Study Team to prepare a master plan with the objective of "Clean Kathmandu Valley" (CKV) and the Team is at the final stage of its study. In line of the Study, the Government of Japan has already provided assistance to construct a waste sorting and transfer site at Teku, and construction of a short-term landfill site at Sisdol. In addition to these, under the Non-Project Grant Aid Scheme of the Government of Japan, 19 waste transportation containers will be provided to the CKV Project to enhance the capacity of Kathmandu Metropolitan City and Lalitpur Sub-Metropolitan City. For the capacity building of the CKV Project and its beneficiaries, a number of awareness programs on solid waste management have been so far implemented under this Study.
These cooperation, including the Sindhuli Road Project, will directly benefit the welfare and improve quality of life of the People of Nepal. The Government of Japan is very pleased to be able to cooperate with the People of Nepal in this way.
However, with regards to Melamchi Water Supply Project which also directly serves to improve the quality of life of the People in the Kathmandu Valley, the Embassy of Japan wishes to express its concern with the arrest of Former Prime Minister Mr. Deuba and Former Minister for Physical Planning and Works Mr. Singh. As Japan, together with the ADB is committed to be the co-financer of the Project, the Embassy of Japan is watching the development very carefully.
Last but not the least, the Embassy of Japan sincerely hopes that the opening of the Sindhuli Road Section IV will pave yet another milestone in strengthening the very friendly relation between Japan and the Kingdom of Nepal.
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