By Our Correspondent, Biratnagar (Rangeli), June 27: The Koshi Province Investment Authority has issued permission to conduct a detailed feasibility study for the operation of a podway transport service in Biratnagar.
The Authority has approved a feasibility study, construction and operation proposal for a podway transport project along a seven-km stretch of the Koshi Highway, from Rani in Biratnagar to the city’s Bus Park.
Kathmandu Podway Company Pvt. Ltd. has submitted a proposal to the Authority with an estimated investment of US$45.1 million. The proposal was endorsed by the 33rd meeting of the Authority’s Board, which approved the preparation of the Detailed Project Report (DPR), Authority’s Chief Executive Dr. Saroj Koirala said.
The company had signed an agreement to develop the project during the Koshi Investment Summit held in Biratnagar last year. Based on that agreement, the Authority invited a credible investment proposal from the company and opened the legal pathway for the detailed study.
The feasibility study will assess the possibility of operating the podway system by utilising the median strips of the Koshi Highway. According to Dr. Koirala, permission to use the road right-of-way has already been obtained from the Department of Roads.
Nil Bhattarai, Vice-Chairman of Kathmandu Podway, said the project would be implemented under the Build-Own-Transfer (BOT) model.
According to him, the work on the feasibility study would begin in mid-July. He also noted that the federal government had already granted podway systems a legal recognition as a form of public transport in 2023.
Furthermore, recent authentication of the Alternative Development Finance Mobilisation Bill, 2026, by the President has created additional avenues for investment in the project.
“There is also potential for foreign investment,” Bhattarai said, adding that further work would proceed once the detailed feasibility study was completed. He noted that the Department of Railways had also proposed a podway system for the Kathmandu Valley.
As podway is an alternative form of public transport, he said the government had gradually addressed policy issues relating to its implementation, making the project increasingly feasible. He added that efforts are also underway to identify opportunities to attract foreign investment.
Although the first phase of the project is planned along the Rani–Bus Park section in Biratnagar, the long-term objective is to extend the service along the entire 49-kilometre Rani–Dharan section of the Koshi Highway.
While the feasibility study is being undertaken by the private sector, it is said that the Koshi Province Government is the first in the country to grant official permission for such a study with a view to eventual construction.
Nepal’s 16th National Plan also includes the objective of developing podway systems as a mode of public transport. Bhattarai said that once work begins in Biratnagar in mid-July, it would also stimulate wider discussion on the company’s proposal for a nationwide podway network covering approximately 2,100 km, which it has already studied.
Podway system is currently in operation in Belarus and Dubai, while construction has also begun in India. Apart from passenger boarding and alighting stations, the infrastructure does not interfere with existing roadways. However, the company has requested that the government take responsibility for managing land acquisition required for the construction of stations.
The Rising Nepal
