International Conference

on
Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)
Nepal Connecting the World:
Challenges and Opportunities
(26-27 February, 2019)

Role of BRI & Agencies for Infrastructure

Development in Nepal

Dr. Padma Bahadur Shahi

 Presentation Content
• Belt and Road
• Transport infrastructure development
• Road transport development: agencies
in Nepal
• Challenges for transport infrastructure
development
Transportation

Dr. Padma B. Shahi 4

7-continent and Asia !!!
 Population share, %
70.0%
59.55%
60.0%

50.0%

40.0%

30.0%

20.0% 16.87%
9.73% 7.70%
10.0% 5.61%
0.54% 0.00%
0.0%

P. density p/mk2
160

140

120

100

80

60

40

20

0
 Area, sq. Km
35,000,000

30,000,000

25,000,000

20,000,000

15,000,000

10,000,000

5,000,000

0
Asia Africa Europe North America South America Australia/Oceania Antarctica
 Asian Highway
• The Asian Highway Network (AH), also
known as the Great Asian Highway, is a
cooperative project among countries in
Asia and Europe and the ESCAP, to
improve the highway systems in Asia. It
comprises of Asian Highway, Trans-
Asian Railway (TAR) and facilitation of
land transport projects.
Belt and Road Initiatives
The Silk Road
Trans-Asian Railway Network
Nepal’s location: Road Network extent
• China: 4.24 million Km (world’s second-biggest road
network) planned to increase 5.18 mil. Km by 2030 the largest network

• India: 4.14 million Km (world’s Third-biggest road

network)

• People's Republic of China has the

largest fleet of motor vehicles in the
world, with 332 million motor vehicles
in 2018,
 Opportunities for Nepal
• AH-2
• AH42
• New concepts of the connectivity in
Nepal:
 Initiatives for connectivity
• E-W Highways:
–Mahendra Highway
–Mid Hill Highway
–Postal Highway
–Madan Bhandari Highway
 Initiatives for connectivity..
• North-South Corridors
• E-W corridors:
–Mahendra Highway
–Postal Highway
–Mid-Hill Highways
–Madan Bhandari Highway
GDP Vs Vehicle ownership
 Nepal: Transport
• National vision: Prosperous Nepal –
Happy Nepali (समृद्ध नेपाल सुखी नेपाली)
• How to generate prosperity and
Happiness?
• Income generation- industrial
development – poverty reduction –
Employment – accessible, safe and
modern transport system -
 Prosperous Nepal
• Transport: National level mobility and
Accessibility
• Transport : Cross border trade
• Infrastructure: Roads – Air transport -
Railways – Waterways - Ropeways
Transport and connectivity: Nepal
• In 1940: First vehicle in Kathmandu
Valley was carried by the porters into
the Kathmandu Valley,
• In 1950: there were only 376 Road
length in Nepal
• Kathmandu was connected to the indian
border by the Tribhuwan Rajpath in
1957
Road sector development
Connecting remote areas: accessibility
Addressing the mobility
 Kathmandu Valley: addressing urban
mobility
• Congested traffic along major corridor:
–AADT: about 100,000
–Arterial Road planning
• Need for Management of mobility:
Public transport,
Major traffic flow: within countries
 Transport management issues
• Institutional development
• Capacity building
• Transport management: balance the
Supply and demand for urban transport
Challenging to physical environment
Domestic air transport: capacity and safety
Water transport
Ropeways: internal tourism
 Transportation infrastructure development

• Institutional development for each

modes
–Planning,
–Traffic design
– location
–Physical design
• Coordination and collaboration among
the modes,
Challenges for infrastructure development
• Defining the real development targets as
per the need assessment
• Federal administrative, (restructuring of
institutions),
• Prevailing organizational and
Management practices,
• Technology and Human resources,
Institutions for infrastructure dev.
• Central authority
– Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and
Transport
• Department of Roads,
• Department of Railways
• Provincial Government
– Infrastructure development
• Local level authority
Transport infrastructure development
 Institutional development
• Across transport Modes
• Purpose in the development stages:
– Planning and Design authorities
–Construction
–Operation and management
–Maintenance
 Way forward: prosperity
• Institution development
• Connectivity internal as well as cross
border
• Investment on Infrastructure
“transport”
• Capacity building
Thank
You