STORY: Tunnel under Nepal's Sunkoshi Marin diversion multipurpose project completed
SHOOTING TIME: May 8, 2024
DATELINE: May 9, 2024
LENGTH: 00:02:34
LOCATION: Kathmandu
CATEGORY: ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the tunnel under Nepal's Sunkoshi Marin diversion multipurpose project
2. SOUNDBITE (Nepali): PUSHPA KAMAL DAHAL, Nepali Prime Minister

STORYLINE:

A 13.3-km-long tunnel under Nepal's Sunkoshi Marin diversion multipurpose project, constructed by a Chinese company, was completed on Wednesday, 12 months ahead of schedule.
   
SOUNDBITE (Nepali): PUSHPA KAMAL DAHAL, Nepali Prime Minister
"This is a transformative national pride project. The completion of such projects contributes to the country's national economy, productivity and prosperity."

After the prime minister pushed the button, a double-shield tunnel boring machine broke through the last section of the tunnel within minutes, to the applause from the audience.
   
The tunnel is the main part of the Sunkoshi Marin diversion multipurpose project, which is aimed at diverting water from the Sunkoshi River to the Marin River through the tunnel to irrigate 122,000 hectares of farmland in the districts of Dhanusha, Mahottari, Sarlahi, Rauthat and Bara in the Terai Plains.
  
In addition, a powerhouse is being built to generate 28.62 megawatts of electricity to alleviate the shortage of power supply in the area.
     
The prime minister noted that while agriculture contributes to one-third of Nepal's gross domestic product, there is not enough water flow in winter and spring in the Terai region which boasts the country's 60 percent of arable land.
   
He voiced his belief that the project will not just support the country's economy, but also help reduce trade imbalance contributed by food imports.
   
"I also believe that the project will support skill and technology transfer, and enhance the capacity of our institutions," said the prime minister.
   
For his part, Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Chen Song said at the event, "Our Chinese enterprises have performed their own advantages, contributed Chinese wisdom and Chinese solutions, and cooperated with the technical personnel from Nepal to overcome all the difficulties such as geological conditions, logistics problems and long period of monsoon time, but finished the project 12 months ahead of schedule, which shows the Chinese speed with high quality and high standards." 

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Kathmandu.
(XHTV)