Trial Bridge

The Trail bridge Sector Wide Approach Programme (TB SWAp) is a Priority-1 programme for the government of Nepal. It covers all 7 provinces in the country and is guided by the Trail Bridge Strategy 2006, and the Trail Bridge Directives, 2010.

Since 2009, the programme has been implemented through the sector-wide approach and has been led by the government. Technical support is provided by Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) through the Trail Bridge Support Unit/HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation and Regional Technical Assistance Providers (RTAPs).

The first phase, Trail Bridge SWAp Framework-I was for five years (July 2009-June2014). During this period, over 300 trail bridges were completed annually (compared to 150 trail bridges prior to the implementation of the sector-wide approach).

Currently, the programme is being implemented through the Trail Bridge SWAp Framework-II (2014-2019). As per the Constitution of Nepal, rural/urban municipalities have jurisdiction over planning, implementation, monitoring and maintenance of trail bridges within their constituencies. Federal grants are provided to rural/urban municipalities, based on the bridge demands that have been approved by the municipal councils, which along with internal resources are used for the construction of trail bridges.