The Suspension Bridge Programme

(last updated September 2006)

Phase V:       1 January 2003 to 30 June 2007

Budget:         CHF 2.499 million

Partner:        Suspension Bridge Section, Department of Urban Development,
                     and Engineering Services, Ministry of Works and Human Settlement, Thimphu Contact:        Sonam Peljore, s_sonpel@helvetas.org.bt or Kunzang Namgyel   
                     kunzangnamgyel@yahoo.com.au

The socio-economic activities of most of the rural areas in the hills of Bhutan depend on trail-based transport and mobility.  Trail and bridge building has a long tradition in the hills of Bhutan – for centuries, rivers have been crossed by bridges of limited span and safety, constructed through local initiatives.  SDC/Helvetas has been supporting this programme for more than 2.5 decades.

The Phase V of Suspension Bridge Programme (SBP) is for a period of 4 and half years (January 2003 to June 2007) financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the Royal Government of Bhutan which is implemented by Helvetas (Swiss Association for International Cooperation).  The Goal of the Project is to assist the Royal Government of Bhutan in attaining her goal of creating the social, physical and administrative infrastructure to promote a balanced socio-economic development in the country by facilitating access to the remote, rural areas.

To achieve the immediate and operational objectives, the project concentrates on the following activities:

• Revise and implement a sustainable maintenance concept;
• Carry out major maintenance works on 175 existing bridges;
• Rehabilitate walkway decking of 50 existing bridges;
• Introduce the Short Span Trail Bridge (SSTB) standard design;
• Construction of minimum 50 new SB and SSTB bridgel
• Strengthen the institutional and technical capacity of both the central and Dzongkhag Engineering Section through capacity development.
• Gradually decentralize responsibilities for planning, survey, design, construction and maintenance of DES.

Until now a total of 407 trail bridges have been built around the country of which more than 200 trail bridges has been jointly financed with Royal Government of Bhutan.  The demand continues to rise as there are more construction of motorable roads as well as farm roads in the rural areas thus creating the need for the farmers and rural poor the access to basic immunities such as schools, Basic Health Units, marketing of agriculture produce thus uplifting their socio-economic difficulties.  From our own experience, during the discussion with the farmers, the first and foremost requirement of a farmer is a road access followed by bridge to cross a river.

The Swiss contribution to the trail bridge sub-sector has been substantial not only in quantity but also in terms of conceptual work such as the development of viable standards, policies and strategies, as well as strengthening of technical and institutional capacities within the public sector. 

Future Outlook:

In view of the decentralization process and to ensure the sustainability of such a programme, a maintenance manual has been developed which has also been translated and distributed to the Districts and the Gups.  The SBS will carry out trainings of the beneficiaries on how to use the maintenance manual and the respective dzongkhags has been requested to appoint caretakers for the trail bridges. 

Due to the cost difference between Long Span Trail Bridges and Short Span Trail Bridges, whereby the cost for the latter bridges are cheaper by 50% to the former bridges,  a training course with resource persons from Helvetas Nepal who have experience in trail bridge building will conduct three weeks training on Short Span Trail bridges for engineers from the Dzongkhags.  The introduction of the SSTB technology will be more economical.  The SSTB is also of a very simple design which can involve full   community participation and the safety standard is equal to that of the SBD bridges.  On the request of the Ministry of Agriculture, the SBP had to design 6 Power Tiller Bridges for marketing the agriculture produce in the selected Dzongkhags.  The bridges are yet to be built.