The Trail Bridge Support Unit (TBSU) is a joint venture of the Government of Nepal and the Government of Switzerland. The Government of Switzerland has been supporting the Government of Nepal through the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). Helvetas, Swiss Association for International Cooperation, is the implementing agency on behalf of the SDC.

Prior to TBSU, the Suspension Bridge Project (SBP) and the Bridge Building at the Local Level (BBLL) were functioning as two different programs in the trail bridge sector and were supporting construction of bridges on the Mail Trails and Local Trails respectively. On 1st July 2001, the SBP and the BBLL merged together forming the TBSU.

The Bilateral Project Agreement for the present project was signed on 15 February 2007 between the Government of Switzerland and the Government of Nepal covering the period January 2007 to December 2010.

As per the bilateral agreement, TBSU shall act as the support unit to TBS/DoLIDAR for the coordination planning, management and monitoring functions of the Trail Bridge Sub- Sector. It will provide technical assistance for the implementation of trail bridges at the local and central level.

Overall Goal:

To increase the benefits for rural people by providing the most cost-effective river-crossings that facilitate socio-economic growth through access to market centers, education centers, health care facilities and eventually to improve living condition of the rural people.

Current Objectives for the Fiscal Year 2007/08

• To support through communities the construction of 545 bridges and the routine maintenance of 1,230 bridges. Conduct the major maintenance of 42 Short Span Trail Bridges (SSTB) and 9 Long Span Trail Bridges (LSTB).

• To instill institutional capacities at the local level to construct new trail bridges and to maintain existing trail bridges.

• To enhance central level capacities in coordination, policy making, setting norms / standards of trail bridges including its monitoring / evaluation and quality control.

• To develop curricula for Educational Institutes (EIs) to encompass both bridge-types, LSTB and SSTB as well as commercial, organizational and social motivation skills. The curricula must cater for practitioners and intake of the respective EIs.

• To completely phase out technical assistance and co-financing through SBD of standardized LSTB Bridge construction and maintenance by the end of this phase.

By virtue of its performances the trail bridge program is ranked as a Priority - 1 program in the Tenth Plan/Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (2002-2007) of the Government of Nepal.

Achievements till June 2007

• Through communities; the construction of 1,873 short span bridges and the major maintenance of 136 bridges have been completed. Through the private sector; the construction of 591 long span bridges and the major maintenance of 262 bridges have been completed by TBSU.

• Manuals for short as well as long span bridges, both suspended and suspension types, have been published and are in use.

• Norms and standards for long and short span bridges were established and are operational.

• Curricula for regular intake of practitioners have been developed and institutionalized. Capacity building program is functional.

• Comprehensive training for district officials is in progress to smoothen the path for technical phasing-out.