Status of the Development of the Asian Highway Route in Bhutan
Karma Galay Director Department of Roads Ministry of Works & Human Settlement Royal Government of Bhutan COUNTRY LOCATION BHUTAN AT A GLANCE (2013)
Area (sq.km) - 38,394
- Dzongkhags /Districts - 20
- Geogs (blocks) - 205
- Capital - Thimphu
- Population (2012) - 7,20,679
- Currency - Ngultrum
- National Language - Dzongkha ROAD TRANSPORT VISION 2020 MILESTONES
Bring 75% of rural population within half-day’s walk from nearest road Upgrade current national trunk roads to carry 30-ton capacity trucks Complete second transnational highway (Southern E-W Highway) Construct “dry ports” at Phuentsholing, Gelephu, and Samdrupjongkhar Introduce domestic air services Improve external air links with full ILS capacity ROAD SECTOR MASTER PLAN (2007 – 2027)
Construction of Southern East-West highway (794 km) –Primary National H/way)
New construction : 506 km Upgradation : 288 km
Secondary National H/way : 537 km (inter Dzongkhag connectivity)
Dzongkhag Roads : 2654 km HIGHWAY NETWORK ROAD NETWORK IN KM (June 2013)
Expressway - 6 Primary National Highway - 1860 Secondary National Highway - 578 Dzongkhag Road - 1178 Thromde (Urban) Road - 350 Farm Road - 5376 Access road - 1230 ------Total: 10578 ------11th PLAN PROGRAMMES (July 2013 to June 2018)
Construction of Primary National H/way - 305 km Upgradation of National Highways - 562 km
Construction of Dzongkhag Road - 122 km PHUENTSHOLING – THIMPHU HIGHWAY (AH48)
Year of construction - 1968 Length (km) - 179
Section Length No. of lanes Class
Phuentsholing-Chukha 82.5 km 2 II Chukha-Damchu 43.5 km 1 III Damchu-Thimphu 53.0 km 2 II ASIAN HIGHWAY (AH48) FROM PHUENTSHOLING TO THIMPHU
STATUS:
Phuentsholing to Chukha (82.5km) - completed
Chukha to Damchu Bypass (24 km):
Formation cutting - 98% complete Blacktopping - 44% complete Completion date - 2015
Damchu toThimphu (53km) - completed CONSTRUCTION OF SOUTHERN EAST-WEST HIGHWAY (SEWH) - 723 km
Existing - 338 km Missing links - 385 km
Connect economic hubs in southern part of the country and onward connection to India
Link to the Asian Highway Network in the sub- region and beyond TRANSPORT LOGISTICS - INTERNATIONAL CONNECTIVITY
International Airport (Paro) - 1 No.
Domestic Airports - 3 Nos. (Bumthang, Yonphula, Gelephu)
Nearest international seaport is Kolkata in India (750 km by road from Phuentsholing)
Nearest railway stations from Bhutan: -Rangia, Bongaigaon, Kokrajhar (Assam, India) -Hashimara, Alipurduar, New Jalpaiguri (W.Bengal, India) ROAD LINKAGE TO NEIGHBORING COUNTRIES
Point in BHUTAN Point in INDIA Phuentsholing Jaigaon Samtse Chamurchi Gelephu Dadghari Samdrupjongkhar Darranga Nganglam Pathsala Gomtu (Pugli) Birpara INTERNATIONAL CONNECTIVITY
AH48
Thimphu-Phuentsholing in Bhutan
AH48 &AH2 (for connectivity with India,Nepal & Bangladesh)
Phuentsholing-Jaigoan-Hashimara-Phulbari- Panitanki-Kakarvita for Bhutan, India & Nepal
Phuentsholing-Jaigoan-Hashimara- Changrabandha-Burimari-Banglabandha for Bhutan, India & Bangladesh CORRIDORS IDENTIFIED UNDER SASEC ROAD CONNECTIVITY PROJECT
Nganglam-Dewathang H/way (75km)
Pasakha Access Road (2km)
Northern bypass in Phuentsholing (2.7km)
Mini Dry Port at Phuentsholing
Study for links for regional connectivity from Gomtu/Pugli to Dalmore/Birpara and Motanga(Bhutan)/Bokajuli(India) CORRIDORS IDENTIFIED UNDER SAARC REGIONAL MULTIMODAL TRANSPORT STUDY (SRMTS)
Road corridors:
1. Thimphu-Phuentsholing-Jaigaon-Hashimara- Kolkata/Haldia
2. Thimphu-Phuentsholing-Jaigaon- Burimari(Bangladesh)-Mongla/Chittagong
3. Samdrup Jongkhar-Guwahati-Shillong- Shilhet(Bangladesh)-Dhaka-Kolkata
4. Thimphu/Paro-Phuentsholing-Hashimara- Siliguri-Kakarvita (Nepal) CORRIDORS IDENTIFIED UNDER SAARC REGIONAL MULTIMODAL TRANSPORT STUDY (SRMTS)
Rail corridor: Pasakha-Toribari-Hashimara (India) TRADE FACILITATION INITIATIVES
Accession to the Revised Kyoto Convention (RKC) -ADB assistance being sought under ADB funded SASEC Trade Facilitation Program to assess and update Bhutan’s legal and regulatory regime for accession to RKC;
Automated customs management -Automated Customs Systems (BAC) being replaced by Revenue Administration Management Information System (RAMIS) being developed under ADB funded TA; TRADE FACILITATION INITIATIVES
Department of Revenue & Customs (DRC), RGoB seeks to include a customs management system in RAMIS
Electronic national single window (NSW) -DRC plans to include NSW as a component in RAMIS KEY CHALLENGES FOR ROAD INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT
Fragile mountainous terrain
High construction and maintenance cost
Shortage of fund
Fledgling construction industry
Lack of appropriate construction technology
Shortage of trained manpower THANK YOU