The construction of the Bheri-Babai Diversion Multipurpose Project, a national pride project, will take three more years to complete reports The Rising Nepal.

Begun in 2015, the project was to be complete within 8 years, in 2023. However, the COVID-19 pandemic is said to have hit the project forcing it to extend the construction deadline.

Overall physical progress of the project has been estimated to be 56 per cent so far while the financial progress has been 41.10 per cent.

Lekhanath Subedi, information officer and senior divisional engineer of the project, argued that in addition to COVID-19, adverse weather patterns, heavy rainfall and subsequent increase in the flow of water in the rivers. He also mentioned local poll as a factor that delayed the project.