The World Bank Wednesday approved US$1.03 billion of financing to help improve regional trade in Nepal and Bangladesh by reducing trade and transport costs and transit time along the regional corridors.
The Accelerating Transport and Trade Connectivity in Eastern South Asia (ACCESS) Programme Phase 1 will help the respective governments address the key barriers to regional trade ─ manual and paper-based trade processes, inadequate transport and trade infrastructure, and restrictive trade and transport regulations and processes, according to a press statement of the WB.
The Phase 1 programme will help replace lengthy manual and paper-based trade processes with digitised automated solutions in Nepal and Bangladesh.
The automation will enable faster border crossing times and install electronic tracking of truck entry and exit, electronic queuing, smart parking, and CCTV cameras.
The programme will also help improve selected road corridors and upgrade key land ports and customs infrastructure, while ensuring green and climate-resilient construction. This will help the integration of landlocked Bhutan and Nepal with the gateway countries of Bangladesh and India.
“Regional trade offers enormous untapped potential for the countries of South Asia. Today, regional trade accounts for only 5 per cent of South Asia’s total trade, while in East Asia it accounts for 50 per cent,” said Hartwig Schafer, World Bank Vice President for South Asia. “South Asia can boost economic growth significantly and create opportunities for millions of people by increasing regional trade and connectivity.”
The US$275 million ACCESS Project in Nepal will upgrade 69 km two-lane section of Butwal-Gorusinghe-Chanauta road along the East-West Highway to a climate-resilient four-lane highway, with a focus on ensuring better road safety, read the press statement.
This is expected to reduce travel time by 30 per cent, thus providing better access to India’s western seaports.
The project will construct at least three market areas along the highway with dedicated areas for women entrepreneurs and traders to ensure that women benefit from the enhanced economic opportunities.
The market areas will be equipped with separate toilets for women, free Wi-Fi, and digital bulletin boards with timely trade and market information. It will also support capacity building to enhance trade and customs processes at Birgunj and Bhairahawa border points. The project will also help advance Nepal’s preparedness and subsequent implementation of the Motor Vehicle Agreement (MVA).
“Nepal has a large untapped potential for regional trade and exports. Low regional trade is often a result of the high cost of connectivity,” said Faris Hadad-Zervos, World Bank Country Director for Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. “The project will help unlock Nepal’s economic potential through better connectivity and trade, both between the provinces as well as regionally among Nepal and other countries to support a green, resilient, and inclusive development.”
It is highly critical to ensure trade growth, long-term sustainability and resilience of investments, while minimising actual degradations on the environment, wildlife and ecosystems along Nepal’s road network, which carries 90 per cent of passengers and goods movement,” said Oceane Keou, World Bank Task Team Leader of the Nepal Project and Co-Task Team Leader of the Programme.
“The project will adopt and implement an innovative green and resilient highway corridor concept in Nepal, based on a landscape-level development approach.”
The US$753.45 million financing for the ACCESS Project in Bangladesh will upgrade the 43 km section of the two-lane Sylhet-Charkai-Sheola to a climate-resilient four-lane road, connecting the Sheola Land Port with the Dhaka-Sylhet Highway, read the press statement.
This will cut down travel time by 30 per cent.
Source : TRN,
