Nepal Strategic Road Connectivity and Trade Improvement Project

active

Prospective

This Project seeks to support Government of Nepal in improving its capacity and efficiency of trade and transport infrastructure and strengthening the institutions managing them. Specifically, the Project will support (a) trade facilitation, through augmenting infrastructure for transit management at key border crossing points, improvement of sanitary and phyto-sanitary (SPS) management, and knowledge and capacity building support for improving management of trade; (b) regional connectivity improvement, through capacity augmentation in two roads within two critical corridors for trade and a safe corridor demonstration program; and (c) institutional strengthening of the National Road Safety Council and the Department of Roads, through inter alia developing and mainstreaming and road asset management, training and periodic maintenance of high traffic highways within the Strategic Road Network. Through these activities, the Project will also pilot or demonstrate ways to address four critical challenges plaguing the road sector, viz., sustainability, efficiency, climate impacts and road safety. The proposed interventions together are envisaged to enhance transport and trade connectivity of land-locked Nepal with and via its neighbours in the region, and in particular, improve the efficiency of goods transit between Nepal and India through reducing time and costs and also make it more safe and resilient. This Project contributes to increasing trade within the eastern sub-region of South Asia, where the gap between reality and potential has been acute, and is in line with the commitment of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal (BBIN countries) in this sub-region to align and focus their interventions in selected priority areas including transport and trade facilitation.

FY17 - Industry, Trade and Services,FY17 - Transportation

World Bank Group

Project

Road, Forest Products and Packaging, Commercial, Government