Announcement of 2.5 Million Dollars Credit to Nepal for Highways on November 12, 1970

•. "',i,> INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION (~) • 1818 H STREET, N.W., WASHINGTON D. C. 20433 TELEPHONE: EXECUTIVE 3-6360 IDA Press Release No. 70/51 Subject: $2.5 million credit to Nepal November 12, 1970 for highways The International Development Association (IDA) has approved a credit equiva- lent to $2.5 million to Nepal for a highway project. It comprises a four-year road maintenance program, including the provision of equipment and workshop facil- ities, the construction of five two-lane road bridges, and five pedestrian suspen- sion bridges on trails used by porters in remote areas of the hill country. The United Nations Development Prograrmne (UNDP) is financing a team of specialists to assist in carrying out the project and unde.rtake work related to Nepal 1 s long-range road development program. • Nepal is divided into three distinct physical regions: the low-lying Terai Plains in the south, adjacent to India; the hill country of central Nepal, in- cluding Kathmandu Valley; and the Himalayas, the world's highest mountains, in the north. This difficult terrain is a natural obstacle to road construction, aud up to 1953 there were no motorable roads outside the Kathmandu Valley. Con- siderable bilateral foreign aid in recent years has made possible progress in constructing a basic main road network which now totals about 800 miles. Road- blocks are frequent during periods of heavy rains and melting snows with the rew sult that a significant amount of maintenance equipment has had to be used for emergency measures to keep the main roads ·open to traffic, and routine road maintenance has suffered. With the expansion of the road network and the growth of motor traffic, there is an urgent need to build up both physical re- sources and the organization needed to maintain Nepal's highway system • • The four-year maintenance program is part of Nepal's long-range plan for 5.mpr.oved mainte~..ance. The program will be concentrated on the three divisions /more IDA Pr~ss R~leAse No. 70/51 - Nepal-Highways - 2 - of Kat:hmandu, Hitaura and Pokhara. It provides for the strengthening of the Road • Department's field organization; the purchase of new road maintenance equipment and the rehabilitation of some existing ~quipment; the construction of a new work- shop at Kathmandu and extension of the workshops at Hitaura and Pnkhara. The road bridges to be built will replace weak and narrow structures. Three of the bri.dges will be on the road between Katlnnandu and the Indian border, and the other two are in the Kathmandu Valley. Although the road network is the primary concern, the porter trail system, ,.,,hich extends thousands of miles throughout the mountains and foothills, is also of economic and social importance. These tl'ails are the only links for the tran~-· port of goods between many settlements and play a vital role in unifying the country. The Government is, therefore, improving the trails by widening them and • furnishing modern suspension bridges to replace dangerous canoe ferries and primi- tjve bridges. The IDA credit includes funds for the supply and erection of five of these bridges on some of the more important routes. The six-man technical assistance team to be provided for a period of two years by the United Nations with UNDP financing will strengthen the Road Depart- ment. It will provide expert services in bridge and highway engineering, road maintenance planning and training, cost accounting, mechanical engineering and workshop practice. The project is scheduled for completion by mid-1974 at a ~otal cost esti- mated at the equivalent of $3.4 million. The IDA credit will cover $2.5 million of the foreign exchange requirements and the remainder will be financed by the UNDP. Local costs equivalent to $700,000 will be met by the Government of Nepal. The IDA credit to the Kingdom of Nepal will be for a term of 50 years, in- c1tding 10 years of grace. charge of 3/4 of 1%. It will be interest-free but will carry a service - 0 - •