Strategic Darwang–Muna–Dhorpatan Road Slows Down: Contractor Reduces Workers and Equipment

Myagdi — Construction of the strategically important Darwang–Muna–Dhorpatan road project has slowed down. Locals are worried as the project — jointly funded by Gandaki Province and the federal government to upgrade the road connecting Darwang (center of Malika Rural Municipality) with Muna (center of Dhaulagiri Rural Municipality) through blacktopping and concreting — has failed to gain momentum.

According to Buddha Man Sherpunja, a local leader from Muna, Dhaulagiri-3, the contractor, who has completed only about 5-6 million rupees worth of work out of a budget of 230 million rupees this year, has reduced the number of workers and equipment over the past month. “The project, which must be completed in two years, risks being abandoned as it has not gained pace,” he said.

Under this project — the largest budget project ever brought to Myagdi through Gandaki Province — the Darwang–Dharapani (7 km) and Machchhim–Muna (4 km) sections will be blacktopped and concreted using oxsfalt technology. The contract for 528,053,000 rupees was signed on June 26, 2025, for a project estimated to cost 670 million rupees excluding administrative expenses.

According to the Infrastructure Development Office, the construction company mobilized in the work area since November 2025 has achieved only about 10 percent physical progress so far. Office Chief Senior Divisional Engineer Dr. Mahendra Baniya said the contractor has reduced the pace of work citing increases in fuel and construction material prices.

“Due to the lack of progress on Darwang–Muna–Dhorpatan, the budget will not be spent, and contractors working on other multi-year projects are facing payment problems,” he said.

The project, with 50-50 cost sharing between the federal and provincial governments, has a contract period of 27 months. A budget of 232.2 million rupees has been allocated for the current fiscal year 2025/26. If construction is not completed by the next fiscal year, there is a risk that the federal government will not release further funds, leaving the provincial government to bear the additional cost.

Although a road reached Muna in 2014, it remains unpaved. This road section will shorten the travel distance to Pokhara–Kathmandu by 50 kilometers for residents of Mangala, Malika, and Dhaulagiri rural municipalities in Myagdi, as well as Dhorpatan in Baglung and Eastern Rukum.

Provincial lawmaker Resham Bahadur Jugjali, elected from Myagdi (2), expressed concern over the delay in constructing this strategically important road and said he has drawn the provincial government’s attention to the matter.

Under the same road project, a contract for 146,161,000 rupees was signed in fiscal year 2021/22 for blacktopping and concreting the 6-kilometer Dharapani–Takam–Jhinadanda section. Construction company operator Bhim Sapkota claimed that the project would be completed despite price increases. Currently, 18 kilometers of road from Beni to Talabang have already been blacktopped.