Background
Rural Connectivity Improvement Project – Additional Financing (RCIP-AF) is a follow-on project of RCIP to improve the road connectivity between rural communities, productive agricultural areas, and socioeconomic centers of different five provinces of Nepal. RCIP- AF supports the government’s transition to federalism, consistent with the federalized constitution of 2015, by shifting the authorities and responsibilities that support federalism through DoLID and strengthening the capacity of the Provinces to fulfill their mandates for rural roads. RCIP-AF covers Koshi, Bagmati, Gandaki, Lumbini, and Karnali Provinces and 24 districts.
SWN, in a consortium led by TRL UK, provides technical assistance to RCIP-AF in five key areas:
(i) Road asset management including road maintenance,
(ii) Climate resilient design and construction,
(iii) Road safety,
(iv) Institutional capacity and
(v) Bio-engineering and NbS slope protection.
Objective of the Assignment
The primary objectives of this assignment are to support federal and provincial governments in enhancing sector management performance through the implementation of institutional development initiatives. This includes:
- Strengthening technical capacity to develop sustainable and resilient transport infrastructure, with a focus on priority areas identified by the provincial governments, such as road safety, asset management, climate change adaptation, bioengineering, and performance-based maintenance (PBM).
- Developing technical guidance and tools for the Department of Local Infrastructure Development (DoLID) and the provincial governments.
Key Activities and Service Provided by SWN
As a partner SWN provides technical assistance in the following work packages:
- Support TRL in literature review and desk study.
- Assess the safety condition of rural roads on a sample basis and assess school safety.
- Review, assess, and recommend areas for capacity enhancement and an appropriate institutional/management structure.
- Liaise with DoLI and ADB to design international study tours, to build capacity on key areas of asset management and road safety, and, where possible and appropriate, in other subjects such as climate change and building resilience, performance-based maintenance, institutional developments, etc.
- Set out a guidance and Manual framework for Performance-Based Maintenance Contracts (PBMC) in DOR and DOLI, through a process of consultation with stakeholders.
- Reviewing aspects such as the geometric design for road safety.
- Engage with the ADB and DoLI teams on the ‘Rural Connectivity Improvement Project’ across the project activities
- Preparation and delivery of the national and regional trainings
- Support with the planning, administration of the workshops and training
Outputs
- Technical and institutional capacities of the executing agency and implementing agencies improved.
- Guidelines, standards produced or updated
