KATHMANDU, Jan 28: The Chinese government has handed over Koteshwor-Kalanki road section of Ring Road to the Nepal government on Monday.

Amid a function held at Khumaltar in Lalitpur, Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Hou Yanqi handed over the project to Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, which was recently completed. The 10.5-km Koteshwor-Kalanki road expansion project started in 2013 by Shanghai Construction Group Co Ltd.

Upon completion of the road, it was handed over to Kathmandu Ring Road Improvement Project under the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport. The road section was expected to be completed in 2017. However, its deadline was extended a couple of times due to different delays -- the 2015 earthquake and border blockade. In turn, the project's completion was initially extended to July 2018 and later to mid-December of 2018. China granted Nepal Rs. 5.13 billion to extend the raod.