Kavrepalanchok: The Panchkhal Urban Water Supply and Sanitation (Sector) Project, aimed at providing water supply to 7,000 households, is making significant progress.

The project, which received a one-year extension, is expected to be completed by mid-January next year. An agreement was reached in 2019 among the Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Project, Town Development Fund, Panchkhal municipality, and drinking water users to finish the project by mid-January 2023.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and other factors, the agreed project timeline was extended by one year. The government had initially committed to completing the project in early 2023 as part of its current fiscal year budget.

A contract worth Rs 1 billion 346.6 million was signed with Huwai Kankai JV for the construction of the drinking water system in 10 out of the 13 wards of the municipality.

As per the contract, users have contributed five percent or Rs 110.5 million of the total project cost, with each household depositing Rs 18,000 into the project's bank account.

The project has achieved nearly 85 percent completion, with water testing already conducted in some areas. The system is capable of providing a regular supply of six million and forty-eight thousand liters of water per day.

In the project area, a total of 6,037 taps are scheduled to be installed, allowing each tap to provide 1,001 liters of drinking water daily.

The project employs around 130 workers daily, with tap installation already completed in approximately 400 households, according to Kumar Lamichhane, the Users Committee chairperson.