Construction has begun to widen and pave the road connecting Jomsom, Mustang’s headquarters, to the religious site of Waragung via Kagbeni, the center of Mukti Kshetra Rural Municipality.
This project is part of the National Pride Kaligandaki Corridor Beni-Jomsom-Korala road project. The 13-kilometer Jomsom-Kagbeni road is being widened to 11 meters and paved with asphalt.
According to Sanjay Bhatt, the project manager for the contractor company, a 2-kilometer section near Ekle Bhatti has already been prepped for paving. He said, “We’ve completed laying the prime coat on 2 kilometers and secured the necessary materials and equipment. The subbase and base work are also finished. We aim to complete paving the Jomsom-Kagbeni section within this fiscal year.”
The project faced delays for two years before finally starting last August. The Beni-Jomsom-Korala road project threatened to blacklist the contractor and seize their bond due to the delays. The 18-month contract includes improvements to the existing gravel road such as widening, machinery use, gabion wall construction, soil cutting and filling, and drainage system construction.
Overall road construction on the 100-kilometer route from Jomsom to Korala Pass on the China border is progressing well. 75 kilometers of the road have already been graveled, with 85% completion on the 25-kilometer Charang-Chhoser section. Completing this section will mean all roads connecting Jomsom to the Korala bridge will be graveled.
