Muglin-Pokhara Road Upgrade Faces Another Delay as June 2026 Deadline Slips Out of Reach

The western section of the Muglin-Pokhara road upgrade is once again running behind schedule, and current progress suggests it will miss the latest June 29, 2026 deadline. The 38.71-kilometer Jamune-to-Seti Bridge stretch has already had its timeline extended three times since construction began five years ago.

Project officials say the biggest obstacles are fuel shortages and rising costs, both of which have slowed construction activity and made it harder for contractors to keep pace. Even with the most recent extension, the work rate now appears too slow to finish within this fiscal year.

A key highway project stuck in repeat delays

The Muglin-Pokhara road is one of the most important transport corridors in western Nepal, connecting the Prithvi Highway to Pokhara, a major tourism hub. The western section under pressure runs from Jamune in Tanahun to Seti Bridge in Pokhara and is part of a long-running effort to widen and modernize the route.

According to recent reporting, the project has already missed multiple deadlines, and the latest extension to June 29 was meant to give contractors enough time to wrap up remaining work. However, the current pace of construction makes completion by that date unlikely.

Why the project is slipping again

Officials have pointed to fuel shortages and rising costs as the main reasons for the slowdown. Those issues have affected the movement of materials, the operation of machinery, and the overall speed of work on the highway expansion.

The repeated extensions also suggest that the project has faced persistent execution problems since it began, rather than a single temporary setback. That has made it increasingly difficult for planners to predict a firm completion date.

Why this road matters

The Muglin-Pokhara corridor is more than just a construction site. It is a vital route for passenger travel, freight movement, and tourism-related traffic into Pokhara and the wider Gandaki region.

Any delay in completing the road means travelers continue to deal with bottlenecks, slower journeys, and ongoing construction-related disruptions on one of Nepal’s most important highways.

What happens next

With the deadline now looking unrealistic, the project is expected to remain unfinished this fiscal year unless construction speed increases sharply. That would push the road expansion into yet another round of delay, adding pressure on both contractors and government officials to find a more reliable path to completion.

For now, the western section of the Muglin-Pokhara road remains a familiar story in Nepal’s infrastructure sector: a high-profile upgrade that keeps inching forward, but not fast enough.