Japan and the Asian Development Bank are helping prepare a feasibility study for a road project in Bhutan that will ensure more balanced and sustainable economic expansion in the less developed southern part of the country, an ADB news release said. The Japan Special Fund, through ADB, will provide a $650,000 grant for the feasibility study, while Bhutan will extend $165,000 to complete funding requirement.
The feasibility study will focus on a national highway in the southern corridor, as well as feeder roads in the middle of the corridor. The study will be the basis of a road project design for possible loan financing.
"Most of the poor, especially in rural areas, feel that the Government should prioritise road infrastructure and bridges to improve their living conditions," said Arto Ahonen, Transport Specialist, South Asia Department, ADB.
A large segment of the rural population of Bhutan, a landlocked country situated to the northeast of India, has limited access to markets and modern services because of harsh geography and limited reach of the domestic transport system. There are no domestic flights, railways, and rivers fit for water transport, the release noted. Bhutan depends on a single east-west national highway running through the middle of the Himalayan country. The absence of a similar highway in the south has constrained travel in that part of Bhutan. Road access plays a vital part in the country's trade and commerce. India is Bhutan's biggest trading partner, accounting for around 90 per cent of its imports and 70 per cent of its exports. At present, only the north-south road corridor located in western Bhutan connects the two countries. Bhutan's exports to Bangladesh also travel through India.