Nepal Engineering College | Thesis Abstract

All Thesis Abstracts

Sustainability Assessment of Labdhu Dhikure Irrigation Project, Likhu Rural Municipality, Khanigaun, Nuwakot.

Yuba Raj Mishra

Dr. Dinesh Sukamani

Assessment of Knowledge and Technology Transfer in Building Construction Projects Executed by 'A' class Contractors in Kathmandu Valley, Nepal.

Arati Devkota

Asst. Prof. Sabir Baidya

Assessment of Post-Fire Safety Compliance and Emergency Preparedness in Post-Fire Restored Government Buildings.

Roshna Guragain

Assist. Prof. Dr. Dinesh Sukamani

Comparative Assessment of Design-Bid-Build and Design-Build Procurement Methods on Bridge Project Performance of the Department of Roads in Nepal.

Raju Prasad Poudel

Asst. Prof. Dinesh Sukamani

Development of Prioritization Framework for Post-Fire Rehabilitation Intervention Decision in Fire Damaged Buildings: Reference from Federal Minister Quarter Buildings at Bhaisepati, Lalitpur.

Ajaya Bista

Dr. Dinesh Sukamani

Rainwater Harvesting Systems as a Sustainable Solution for Urban Water Scarcity: Case Study of Suryabinayak Municipality.

Pratikshya Ghimire

Mr. Jagam Shrestha

Assessment of Underground Duct Installation Methods in Optical Fiber Projects Under Nepal Telecom in Kathmandu Valley, Nepal.

Student: Sanjeev Awasthi

Supervisor: Dr. Dinesh Sukamani

Submitted Date: September, 2026

Abstract

Nepal Telecom uses two main methods for laying underground fiber optic ducts in Kathmandu Valley, Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) and Open Trenching (OT). Decision making between these methods has to be done by the NTC management. Life Cycle Cost (LCC) comparison of six completed Nepal Telecom projects (two HDD, four OT) which includes DPR preparation, construction, restoration, and operation and maintenance costs over a 20 year period found that OT was about 30.19 percent more expensive per kilometer than HDD, mainly due to higher restoration and O&M costs, showing that HDD is more economical over its full life span despite higher upfront construction cost. Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was performed using a 20-member expert panel (10 Client, 10 Contractors) to determine and prioritize the challenges for the two methods. There was a Technical to Social inversion identified, with HDD challenges being dominated by technical factors (0.4384) led by Skill Gap and Technical Capacity, and OT challenges being led by the Social factors (0.2670) with Service Interruption Time as the primary area. The Consistency Ratios for the findings were all within acceptable ranges. Third, mitigation measures for the top three prioritized challenges for the two methods were determined through Key Informant Interviews with a 10-member respondent base (5 Client, 5 Contractors) and were validated through the creation of word clouds and Client-Contractor convergence checking. The findings revealed general consensus between the two groups on the mitigation measures with the HDD group focusing on training and utility coordination and the OT group focusing on scheduling and traffic management, which added to the identified Technical-Social inversion. Overall, the study allowed Nepal Telecom to have a comprehensive perspective of the issues that it would face should it pursue one of the two methods and the corresponding prioritization and mitigation strategies it could adopt for its chosen method.

Keywords

Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD), Open Trenching, Life Cycle Cost (LCC) Analysis, Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA), Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), Underground Fiber Optic Installation, Triangulation

THESIS ABSTRACT