The feasibility assessment for the proposed Kerung-Kathmandu railway project will be conducted under a memorandum of understanding signed by Nepal and China. The Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport’s secretary, Rabindra Shrestha, said, “We have received a draught MoU for a feasibility study of the Kerung-Kathmandu railway.” “In addition to the sum granted previously, Nepal is seeking an additional funding from China to complete the feasibility study.” An MoU will be signed if both parties agree.”
Secretary Shreshta met virtually with senior officials from the China Railway Administration in the first week of January, and the Chinese side claimed that the feasibility study for the railway project would take at least 42 months to complete.
A pre-feasibility study of the railway conducted in 2016 by China had stated that complicated geological terrain and laborious engineering workload will become the most significant obstacles to building the cross-border railroad. The total investment needed for the project would be known once the feasibility study is completed, but the pre-feasibility study had estimated the cost of the railway, whose 72.25 km section will fall on the Nepali side, at $2.75 billion. As per the pre-feasibility study report, around 98.5 percent of the railway would either be bridges or tunnels, and construction cost would be Rs3.55 billion per kilometre.
