Nepal Strategic Road Connectivity and Trade Improvement Project

The development objective of Strategic Road Connectivity and Trade Improvement Project for to improve the efficiency and safety of select transport infrastructure, improve the efficiency of cross-border trade, and strengthen capacity for strategic road network management in Nepal. This project has four components. 1) The first component, Trade Facilitation, has the following three sub-components: (i) Augmentation of physical infrastructure, equipment, inspection and related border transit management systems that are required to absorb increasing traffic and trade volumes at key border crossing points including Birgunj, Bhairahawa and Biratnagar; (ii) Augmentation of equipment and training, and construction and/or renovation of laboratory buildings at key border locations; and (iii) Knowledge and capacity building. 2) The second component, Regional Road Connectivity, comprises three sub-components: (i) Improvement of the existing Nagdhunga-Naubise-Mugling road to two lanes, with one meter paved shoulders; (ii) Upgrading of the Kamala-Dhalkebar-Pathlaiya road from two lanes to four lanes; (iii) A safe corridor demonstration program (SCDP), with support for road safety improvement initiatives including enforcement and post-crash response, covering a length of about 250 kilometers. 3) The third component, Institutional Strengthening, comprises three sub-components: (i) Support for the National Road Safety Council; (ii) Capacity enhancement of Department of Roads (DoR) for improved management of Strategic Road Network (SRN); and (iii) Support for periodic maintenance of the Core Road Network (CRN). 4) The fourth component, Contingency Emergency Response, aims to provide immediate response to an eligible crisis or emergency, as needed.