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| TA Name | Proposed Road Connectivity Project (formerly Road Connectivity Sector II) | |||
| Country | Nepal | |||
| Project Number | 38350- 01 | |||
| Fund Source/Amount[Proposed] |
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| Thematic Classification |
Economic growth
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| Linkage to Country/Regional Strategy |
In support of efforts to promote regionally balanced and inclusive economic growth, the transport sector focus of ADB's CPS 2005-2009 is to improve mobility and connectivity at national, regional and district levels. The CPS 2010-2014 currently under preparation maintains the emphasis on supporting efforts to boost rural incomes to stabilize the peace process. Improving global-local connectivity and accessibility are critical sector outcomes supporting the achievement of the overall national economic growth targets. The PPTA for preparing RCP (this project) was included in the CPS 2005-2009, the CPS Midterm Review and the COBP 2008-2010 with indicative ADB financing of $600,000. It is expected that an indicative loan amount of $40 million (ADF) will be made available for the ensuing RCP in 2011.
The proposed RCP provides a continuation of Road Connectivity Sector Project I (RCSP I) currently under implementation. Since the approval of RCSP I, the Government has developed an ambitious Sector- Wide Road Programme and Priority Investment Plan (PIP) (2007-2016) for the Strategic Road Network (SRN). The SRN consists of approximately 5,050 km of roads, including 15 National Highways and 51 Feeder Roads constituting the main road arteries in Nepal ensuring access from local or district levels to other regions and ultimately to Nepal's international borders. The PIP aims at enhancing accessibility by (i) increasing the population served by SRN within 4-hrs walk in hill areas and 2-hrs walk in the Terai area from 78% in 2007 to 86% in 2016; (ii) increasing the population served by SRN and LRN within 4-hrs walk in hilly areas and 2-hrs walk in the Terai area from 85% in 2007 to 91% in 2016; and (iii) increase the number of connected district headquarters from 69 in 2009 to 75 in 2012. RCP will directly assist the Government in meeting targets (i) and (iii) by improving connectivity and accessibility and reducing travel time and vehicle operating cost in project areas, and partly in meeting target (ii). National roads of subregional importance may be selected under the road prioritization study (TOR para 3) for inclusion under the PPTA. The PPTA is necessary to prepare the Project Design and Feasibility Studies for the RCP. It is envisaged that the RCP will consist of (i) an infrastructure investment component which will finance upgrading/rehabilitation of about 250 km of the SRN; and (ii) and institutional development and capacity building component which will aim at increasing the sustainability of the investment and enhancing ongoing sector initiatives by providing support to (a) current efforts to strengthen procurement functions in Department of Roads (DOR) and mitigate risks; and (b) enhance the previous pilot schemes relating to performance based maintenance contracts to ensure sustainability of SRN investments. |
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| Impact | Improved connectivity and accessibility of communities in participating districts to markets, district headquarters and other centers of economic activity. Expected performance targets/indicators are: (i) all weather road accessibility in participating districts improved; (ii) reduction of travel time in project areas; and (iii) reduced vehicle operating cost in project areas. Performance targets/indicators will be further refined by the PPTA consultants. | |||
| Outcome | The outcome of the PPTA is a preliminary project design agreeable to the Government and ADB. To ensure Project readiness, it has been proposed that following completion of Feasibility Studies under the PPTA, Detailed Design will be prepared under the proposed TA Grant for Transport Project Preparatory Facility currently under processing. | |||
| Outputs and Timeframe |
The PPTA will deliver: (i) Feasibility Studies for 300 km of SRN roads for the proposed RCP, comprising technical, economic, financial, and safeguard analysis, including (a); involuntarily resettlement screening and impact categorization checklists; (b) draft resettlement plans; (c) consultation and participation plan (d) indigenous peoples screening and impact categorization checklist; (e) summary poverty reduction and social strategy; (f) indigenous peoples development plans, if necessary; (g) gender strategy; (h) complementary poverty reduction program; (i) environmental screening and impact categorization checklist; (j) environmental assessment (IEE and EIA) reports; and (ii) capacity assessments of the proposed IA for the ensuing loan in particular in the areas of procurement and financial management; and (iii) on-the-job training and knowledge transfer to advance project readiness in line with the subsequent preparation of Detailed Design to ensure awards of the first civil works contract simultaneously with loan effectiveness. The PPTA will be completed within 7 months from February 2010 to August 2010.
The consultants will, in cooperation with DOR, organize consultation workshops with stakeholders regarding project design and ensure that these consultations are reflected in the proposed project design. Local stakeholders and potential Project beneficiaries will be consulted and invited to participate in conceptualizing the assistance during the course of the social and environmental assessments. |
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| Geographical Location | Nationwide | |||
Safeguard Categories
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| Environment | A/B | |||
| Procurement | ||||
| Consulting Services | The PPTA will be carried out by (i) a firm of consultants consisting of international and national experts in roads/highway engineering, road and bridge design; engineering surveys, geotechnical engineering, transport economics; transport sector capacity assessments, including procurement and financial management capacity; project performance indicators; and (ii) individual national consultants in the field of (a) resettlement and rehabilitation (5 person months (pm); (b) social impact assessment (4 pm); and (c) environmental assessment (5 pm). The consulting services of the firm will require 10 pm of international and 27 pm of national consulting services. The firm of consultants be engaged through quality and cost-based selection (QCBS) with a quality-cost ratio of 90:10 in accordance with ADB's Guidelines on the Use of Consultants (2007, as amended from time to time) using simplified technical proposals. The three individual consultants will be engaged separately by ADB in accordance with ADB's Guidelines on the Use of Consultants (2007, as amended from time to time). | |||
| Responsible ADB Officer |
Lise Weidner |
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| Responsible ADB Department |
South Asia Department |
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| Responsible ADB Division |
Transport and Communications Division, SARD |
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| Executing Agencies |
Ministry of Physical Planning and Works |
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| Timetable | ||||
| Concept Clearance | 24 Jul 2009 | |||
| Fact-finding | 17 Jun 2009 to 24 Jun 2009 | |||
| Approval | 11 Dec 2009 | |||
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