His Majesty the King inaugurated the 77-kilometre Gyalpoizhing-Nganglam highway yesterday. His Majesty was accompanied by His Royal Highness Gyaltshab Jigme Dorji Wangchuck.
The Prime Minister, the works and human settlement minister, other ministers, the Opposition Leader, Indian Ambassador to Bhutan Jaideep Sarkar, parliamentarians and senior government officials attended the event.
The construction of the Gyalpoizhing-Nganglam Highway began in 2006. Seventy five kilometre of the road has been blacktopped so far. The blacktopping of the remaining stretch would be completed by the end of this month.
The Director of the Department of Roads, Tenzin, said the bypass road will bring tremendous benefits to the local communities.
“It connects Monggar and Pema Gatshel and there are many remote villages like Dhagsa, Yangbari, Nikubi and others along the route in the three dzongkhags of Monggar, Zhemgang and Pema Gatshel,” he said.
The DoR Director added the highway would help in the establishment of the 2,640-MW Kuri-Gongri Hydropower Project and the Bongdeyma Industrial Estate in Monggar.
Also, the people of the eastern districts will not have to travel all the way to Samdrup Jongkhar to go to Phuentshogling. Instead, they can travel to Nanglam and proceed via India highway towards Phuentshogling.
The highway shortens the distance from Monggar to Phuentshogling by over 220 kilometer. It used to take 13 hours before when people had to travel via Samdrup Jongkhar and now it’s just an eight-hour journey.
“Before, when we had to pass through Bumthang, Trongsa, Monggar, and Samdrup Jongkhar,” said Tenzin Zangmo, an hotelier in Nganglam, Pema Gatshel. “That was a long way, but now it’s only a three-hour journey.”
“Earlier, it took two days to reach Monggar from Phuentshogling. But now with Gyalpoizhing-Nganglam highway, it takes only one day,” Changa Tshering, a driver said.
The highway will also boost hotel businesses and shops along the route. “It’s also good for businesses in Nganglam because we see more customers now,” Tenzin Zangmo said.
“Hoteliers and shopkeepers benefited because commuters would stop by to eat,” Kezang Lhamo, another hotelier in Nganglam said.
Building the highway has not been without challenges. The work took 12 long years. Rocky cliff and machine breakdowns were some of the hindrances the project had to overcome.
“The traditionally used machines were not adequate and retaining workers was difficult because of the risk involved, so the contractors had to keep recruiting new people,” the DoR director said.
“Most of the contractors could not complete work on time, but the time extensions given were justifiable given the challenges.”
The improvement of safety of the road will be works and human settlements ministry’s top priority in the 12th Five Year Plan.
The government of India funded over Nu 2.5 bn for the project through the project tied assistance.
Meanwhile, in the evening, His Majesty granted an audience to the participants of the works and human settlement conference in Monggar.
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