Media Contacts: In Kathmandu: Rajib Upadhya (9771) 4226792/3
e-mail: rupadhya@worldbank.org In Washington: Benjamin Crow (202) 473-5105
e-mail: bcrow@worldbank.org WASHINGTON, June 21, 2005 — With the approval today of a US$32 million grant to finance essential road infrastructure in rural areas, the World Bank, in collaboration with the Government of Nepal, hopes to address one of Nepal’s main constraints to economic growth and poverty reduction: the poor access to markets and services needed by residents in remote, rural, and hilly areas of the country.
An estimated 36 percent of Nepal’s 24 million people live at least two hours walk from the nearest all-season road where public transport services may be available. The lack of access is more severe in hill districts. At least 15 of the 75 district headquarters are still not connected by road. Sixty percent of the road network in the country and almost all rural roads are dry-season tracks that cannot be operated during the rainy season.
“Access to services and economic opportunities have been among the top casualties of Nepal’s ongoing conflict, especially in the remote rural hinterlands,” says Kenichi Ohashi, World Bank Country Director for Nepal. “This project takes the conflict into account and, by design, intends to build partnerships and mobilize communities in the planning, implementation, and monitoring of projects that best serve their needs.”
Experience from other IDA-financed and donor-supported projects suggest that project implementation progress is possible if the following conditions are met: (a) the project design is flexible enough to allow project works to move between districts or project areas within a district; (b) community participation is fostered during project planning, implementation, and monitoring through appropriate social mobilization; (c) civil works do not require blasting operations to excavate rocks; and (d) local NGOs are engaged to undertake situation assessments in project districts, develop communication strategies and outreach campaigns, and provide implementation support.
“Nepal’s economic and social development is inextricably linked to accessibility to markets and services,” says Binyam Reja, a transport economist with the World Bank. “Agriculture is the mainstay of the Nepali economy and accounts for 85 percent of employment. One of the major constraints hampering the development of the sector is the low level of access to markets and services due to poor road infrastructure in remote areas.”
Various socioeconomic surveys in Nepal also show that children in remote districts are more likely to be malnourished, die before they reach five years of age, and less likely to attend school than children living in districts that are more accessible.
The Rural Access Improvement and Decentralization Project (RAIDP) aims to generate a 20 percent increase in motorized and non-motorized trips by beneficiaries to key social and economic centers and reduce their travel time by 20 percent.
The project will be implemented in 20 decentralized districts across the country through two components: (a) Rural Transport Infrastructure improvement in participating districts; and (b) Capacity Building and Advisory Services to the Department of Local Infrastructure and Agriculture Roads (DOLIDAR) and participating District Development Committees (DDC). The first component comprises the rehabilitation and upgrading of about 800 km of existing dry-season rural roads to all-season standard; the upgrading of about 200 km of existing rural trails and tracks to dry-season standard in remote hill districts; the maintenance of about 3,500 km of rural roads, covering routine and recurrent maintenance; the construction of about 350 suspension trail bridges; and the development of small, community infrastructure, including construction of markets and community trails and roads.
The second component comprises implementation of training-related activities; the provision of technical assistance and advisory services; and the undertaking of a study to assess the mobility and transport needs and travel patterns of the rural population, among others.
The project also offers an opportunity to demonstrate the viability of implementing major development interventions in conflict-affected settings, subject to adherence to open, substantive and ongoing community consultation and participation during implementation. The project will have a built-in provision for this, based on local communication strategies aimed at the beneficiary communities.
The project will be financed by a grant from the International Development Association (IDA), the concessionary arm of the World Bank Group. Reja added, “By the end of the project, residents of participating districts should be able to utilize improved rural transport infrastructure and services and benefit from enhanced access to social services and economic opportunities.” For more information on the World Bank’s activities in Nepal, please visit: http://www.worldbank.org/np |
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