Nepal: Supporting Transportation Project Planning and Due Diligence

The poor condition of the primary road network, high transport costs, and inefficiencies in cross border trade all inhibit Nepalese trade and economic growth.

Addressing one impediment in isolation—only building more roads, for example—does not fully optimize potential economic growth and poverty reduction. Implemented by DT Global, this project used a comprehensive approach to improve infrastructure along with financial, regulatory, labor, and trade work while also improving conditions in some of Nepal’s most impoverished populations.

Project results included:

• Data Collection, Verification, and Analysis for Project Prioritization: The project team carried out field data collection on over 2,000 kilometers and specific detailed data on 360 kilometers of Nepal’s Strategic Road Network. This effort verified existing data, including reviewing geotechnical, environmental, social, and gender data, and prioritized and selected segments of the Strategic Road Network in support of the development of the Nepal Compact and the Road Maintenance Project of the Compact.

• Determination of Causes of Deterioration, Cost Estimates, and Recommendations: The project team collected field data to determine the causes of deterioration and to support the cost estimates and prepare recommendation for treatment options. This involved the calculation of the Economic Rate of Return and Net Present Value/Cost for a range of engineering options, including the estimation of appropriate maintenance strategies.

• Full Depth Reclamation: DT Global selected the Full Depth Reclamation technology as a potential technology to bring into Nepal. We evaluated several road segments for technical implementation ability, environmental and social appropriateness, and capacity of contractors to execute the work. We also assessed the capacity of laboratories to carry out the necessary analysis for the work.

• Inter-relational GIS Database and Live Itinerary Diagrams: The team developed an interactive, online, georeferenced database, NePACT, to layer all available data onto base mapping. It supported MCC planning, monitoring, and evaluation activities in Nepal.

• Institutional Capacity Assessment, Development, and Technical Assistance: DT Global carried out a full institutional capacity assessment and developed recommendations, including hosting workshops with various levels of government and other donors to understand the road maintenance regime and environment in Nepal.

• Distribution Effects of Maintenance Interventions on the Strategic Road Network in Nepal: DT Global carried out key informant interviews which aimed to identify if the consumers of transport services and retailers and consumers of goods were benefitting from the maintenance of the prioritized roads in a good to fair condition, and to identify the existence of cartels within trucking associations.