Abstract
The ILO funded and implemented a year-long pilot project, which provided useful lessons for the design of the Strengthening the National Rural Transport Program (SNRTP). Building on ILO’s 40 years of expertise and experience in the implementation of rural roads interventions across the globe and on previous experiences in Nepal, the pilot project was implemented in five districts, successfully developing a sustainable and systematic asset management structure focused on maintaining the existing assets. Implemented with the development objective of enhancing the availability and reliability of transport connectivity in 37 districts, the SNRTP benefited 15.7 million people, i.e., more than half the total population in Nepal. SNRTP’s success was measured by two outcome indicators: (i) the percentage of population within 2-4 hours walking distance in the participating Terai and hill districts and (ii) the percentage of the core network roads in participating districts rated in ‘good’ or ‘fair’ condition.