Guwahati: There are several distressed and temporary bridges in Assam vulnerable to the high flooding risk that need to be replaced by climate-resilient bridges.
The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors have approved the single largest state-specific operation in Assam till date amounting to $452 million which aims to strengthen the resilience and management of roads and bridges to help people living in 1,739 villages gain round-the-year access to wholesale markets, schools, hospitals, and places of work. As a result of better connectivity, savings of more than $82 million within the next six years are expected against the earlier costs for people to journey to these places.
The program Assam Resilient Rural Bridges Program aims to improve connectivity for over 1.8 million people living in rural areas, especially during extreme weather. The total project cost is 564.71 million of which the Bank is giving $452 million.
The assistance is restricted to improving 1184 bridges on the rural roads network – “rural bridges”, whilst building the road and bridge management capability of the Assam Public Works Department.
This is the first phase of the program. Phase I will be implemented in seven years followed by Phase 2 which will span over eight years. The cost of the government program is estimated at approximately INR 11,165 Crore (US$1.34 billion and is planned to be implemented in two phases. Assam has prepared a 15-year bridge maintenance, widening, replacement, and construction program.
Currently, Assam has over 8,800 registered bridges (excluding bridges under construction) in its entire sub-national road network. The bridge inventory includes about 1,000 timber and semi-permanent steel bridges and 965 permanent narrow bridges. The temporary bridges are overtopped by flood and are often washed out. The PMGSY program until recently excluded the construction of bridges over 25 meters, due to funding constraints and weak institutional capacity. Hence, about 34,000 Km of rural roads in Assam that were paved under the PMGSY contain gaps that were longer than 25m. Overall, there are about 1,400 such gaps in the rural road network, which disrupt connectivity.
The World Bank says given Assam’s proneness to earthquakes, landslides, floods, and erosion, bridge design needs to consider multi-hazard risks.
The Program will also connect almost 633,000 women-led textile and handicraft producers living within 2 km of roads or collection points. Electronic vehicles and logistics hubs set up through the Program will help gain access to regional markets with reduced emissions.
“The Program will support the Government of Assam to attract private investment for quality jobs, increase farmers’ incomes, and enhance value chains thus promoting inclusive and diversified growth in the rural sector,” said Auguste Tano Kouame, the World Bank’s Country Director for India.
The Program will help to strengthen the Assam Public Works Roads Department’s financial and procurement processes using the state’s own systems and provide training to improve disaster risk management.
“In addition, it will help increase women’s participation by almost 20 percent in jobs related to bridge design, construction, and maintenance, as well as operating digital platforms at rural transportation hubs,” said Tesfamichael Mitiku, Anup Karanth, and BKM Ashraful Islam, the Task Team Leaders for the Program.
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