A road project in Kavrepalanchok that sat nearly idle for years has surged from 8 percent to more than 50 percent physical progress in just six months, Infrastructure Development Minister Sunil Lamsal announced on October 5, holding it up as proof that the ministry’s drive to revive stalled “sick” projects is producing results.
Since taking leadership of the ministry, Lamsal said, reviving sick projects has been the first priority. His team closely studied the stalled ministry-run projects and adopted facilitation policies to unblock them. “Results have started to appear,” he said.
Bhakunde Mamti road construction progress turns around
The showcase example is the Bhakunde-Machhe-Mukpatar-Titretar-Mamti road in Dhulikhel, Kavrepalanchok. The contract was awarded in 2079 BS (2022/23), but construction barely moved afterward. As of last Baisakh (April 2026), the project stood at only 8 percent physical progress.
By mid-Ashoj (early October 2026), the picture had transformed: physical progress crossed 50 percent within six months, and the minister says the road section will be completed within this year.
Why sick projects matter
Stalled public projects are one of the most expensive problems in Nepal’s construction sector. When a contracted road sits idle, the public gets no road, the contractor’s equipment and workforce sit unproductive, and the government’s budget allocation gets tied up without results. Reviving such projects, rather than terminating and re-tendering them, can save years of additional delay.
The ministry has not published a full list of the sick projects under its revival drive, but the Kavre turnaround suggests the facilitation approach, which typically involves resolving right-of-way, payment, and design bottlenecks, is being applied project by project. Engineers and contractors watching the sector will look for whether other long-stalled projects in the ministry’s portfolio show similar jumps in the coming months.
Source: Minister Sunil Lamsal’s Facebook post, October 5, 2026 (https://www.facebook.com/reel/2152687542006921/).