1. Bhutan’s Status of Transport Connectivity including Transit Facilitation in South and South-West Asia
Tshering Wangdi
Chief Engineer
Department of Roads
Ministry of Works & Human Settlement
Pema Wangchen
Joint Collector
Department of Revenue & Customs
Ministry of Finance
Royal Government of Bhutan

2. COUNTRY LOCATION

3. BHUTAN AT A GLANCE (2013) Area (sq.km) - 38,394
Dzongkhags /Districts - 20
Geogs (blocks)
Capital - Thimphu
Population (2012) - 7,20,679
Currency - Ngultrum
National Language - Dzongkha
Per capita GDP - Nu.138,132 (2012)
GDP growth rate % (2012)
- Forest cover %

4. ROAD TRANSPORT VISION 2020 MILESTONES
Bring 75% of rural population within half-day’s walk from nearest road
Upgrade current national trunk roads to carry
30-ton capacity trucks
Complete second transnational highway (Southern E-W Highway)
Construct “dry ports” at Phuentsholing, Gelephu, and Samdrupjongkhar
Introduce domestic air services
Improve external air links with full ILS capacity

5. ROAD SECTOR MASTER PLAN (2007 – 2027)
Construction of Southern East-West
highway (794 km) –Primary National H/way)
New construction : 506 km
Upgradation : 288 km
Secondary National H/way : 537 km
(inter Dzongkhag connectivity)
Dzongkhag Roads : 2654 km

6. TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM
Road is the principle mode of transport in the country
Construction began in early sixties and the national road network expanded over 10,000km
All twenty districts are connected by road network
Road construction in the country is costly and challenging due to rugged mountainous terrain
Air services operate to nine destinations in five countries: Delhi, Kolkata,Gaya,Guwahati,Bagdogra (all in India)

7. TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM CONTD.
Air services operate to nine destinations in five
countries:Delhi,Kolkata,Gaya,Guwahati,Bagdogra (all in
India) Dhaka,Katmandu,Bangkok and Singapore.
A private airline has been licensed and commenced operation in 2013
Domestic air services commenced since December 2011
No rail transport, no inland water transport and no dry port
Passenger and freight in land transport fully privatized

8. TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM CONTD.
Motorization has been rapid with the number of vehicles increasing from 13,584 in 1997 to 67,499 in 2012 with an annual increase of about 11%
Overall 100 vehicles for every 1000 population
Vehicle model split
Trucks/Buses %
Light vehicles/passenger cars -58%
2Wheelers %
Taxis %
Others %

9. HIGHWAY NETWORK

10. ROAD NETWORK IN KM (June 2013)
Expressway
Primary National Highway Secondary National Highway
Dzongkhag Road
Thromde (Urban) Road
Farm Road
Access road
Total:

11. 11th 5 YEAR PLAN PROGRAMMES (July 2013 to June 2018)
Construction of Primary National H/way km
Upgradation of National Highways km
Construction of Dzongkhag Road km

12. PHUENTSHOLING – THIMPHU HIGHWAY (AH48)
Year of construction
Length (km)
Section Length No. of Lanes Class
Phuentsholing-Chukha km II
Chukha-Damchu km III
Damchu-Thimphu km II
Present traffic volume vpd

13. ASIAN HIGHWAY (AH48) FROM PHUENTSHOLING TO THIMPHU
STATUS:
Phuentsholing to Chukha (82.5km) - completed
Chukha to Damchu Bypass (24 km):
Formation cutting % complete
Blacktopping % complete
Completion date
Damchu toThimphu (53km) - completed

14. CONSTRUCTION OF SOUTHERN EAST-WEST HIGHWAY (SEWH) - 723 km
Existing km
Missing links km
Connect economic hubs in southern part of the country and onward connection to India
Link to the Asian Highway Network in the sub-region and beyond

15. TRANSPORT LOGISTICS - INTERNATIONAL CONNECTIVITY
International Airport (Paro) - 1 No.
Domestic Airports Nos.
(Bumthang, Yonphula, Gelephu)
Nearest international sea-port is Kolkata in India (750 km by road from Phuentsholing)
Nearest railway stations from Bhutan:
-Rangia, Bongaigaon, Kokrajhar (Assam, India)
-Hashimara, Alipurduar, New Jalpaiguri (W.Bengal, India)

16. ROAD LINKAGE TO NEIGHBORING COUNTRIES
Point in BHUTAN Point in INDIA
Phuentsholing Jaigaon
Samtse Chamurchi
Gelephu Dadghari
Samdrupjongkhar Darranga
Nganglam Pathsala
Gomtu (Pugli) Birpara

17. INTERNATIONAL CONNECTIVITY
AH48
Thimphu-Phuentsholing in Bhutan
AH48 &AH2 (for connectivity with India,Nepal & Bangladesh)
Phuentsholing-Jaigoan-Hashimara-Phulbari-Panitanki-Kakarvita for Bhutan, India & Nepal
Phuentsholing-Jaigoan-Hashimara-Changrabandha-Burimari-Banglabandha for Bhutan, India & Bangladesh

18. CORRIDORS IDENTIFIED UNDER SASEC ROAD CONNECTIVITY PROJECT
Nganglam-Dewathang H/way (75km)
Pasakha Access Road (2km)
Northern bypass in Phuentsholing (2.7km)
Mini Dry Port at Phuentsholing
Study for links for regional connectivity from Gomtu/Pugli to Dalmore/Birpara and Motanga(Bhutan)/Bokajuli(India)

19. CORRIDORS IDENTIFIED UNDER SAARC REGIONAL MULTIMODAL TRANSPORT STUDY (SRMTS)
Road corridors:
Thimphu-Phuentsholing-Jaigaon-Hashimara-Kolkata/Haldia
Thimphu-Phuentsholing-Jaigaon-Burimari(Bangladesh)-Mongla/Chittagong
Samdrup Jongkhar-Guwahati-Shillong-Shilhet(Bangladesh)-Dhaka-Kolkata
Thimphu/Paro-Phuentsholing-Hashimara-Siliguri-Kakarvita (Nepal)

20. CORRIDORS IDENTIFIED UNDER SAARC REGIONAL MULTIMODAL TRANSPORT STUDY (SRMTS)
Rail corridor: Pasakha-Toribari-Hashimara (India) Feasibility study being carried by Government of India to connect five border towns in Bhutan from the nearest Indian railheads.

21. CROSS-BORDER TRAFFIC MOVEMENT
Being landlocked, sub-regional, regional and international connectivity by land transport is possible through India only
Phuentsholing near Jaigaon in West Bengal is the main gateway for international trade (over 82%)
About 55%import and 94% export takes place with India
Trade with other countries within the SAARC region is marginal
Transport connectivity with Nepal and Bangladesh is possible through India only
Sea port in India (Kolkata and Haldia) are the main Maritime gateways for international trade with other countries other than Nepal and Bangladesh

22. KEY CHALLENGES FOR ROAD INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT AND TRANSIT TRANSPORT OPERATION
High construction and maintenance cost due fragile, rugged mountainous terrain and winding roads
Shortage of fund
Fledgling construction industry
Lack of appropriate construction technology
Shortage of trained manpower
Transport and transit through India in absence of Inland container depot
Small volume of cargo makes it unfeasible to book railway wagons or use bigger containers to and from the sea port.

23. SUB- REGIONAL AND REGIONAL TRADE FACILITATION INITIATIVES
Accession to the Revised Kyoto Convention (RKC)
-ADB assistance being sought under ADB funded SASEC Trade Facilitation Program to assess and update Bhutan’s legal and regulatory regime for accession to RKC;
Automated customs management
-Automated Customs Systems (ACS) being replaced by Revenue Administration Management Information System (RAMIS) being developed under ADB funded TA
SAARC Regional Multimodal Transport Study adopted in 2007
South-Asian Sub-Regional Economic Cooperation Program of the ADB completed in 2005 covering 4 countries: India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan
Bay of Bengal Initiative for multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation or BIMSTEC Transport Infrastructure and Logistics Study covering Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Sri-lanka and Thailand.

24. Bilateral Trade and Transit Agreement
Agreement on Trade and Commerce with India.
Allows free trade between the two countries through designated entry and exit points
Transit of cargo from sea-ports are subject to very minimal checks
There is also free movement Bhutan registered vehicles in India
Agreement on Trade and Commerce with Bangladesh
International trade takes place through 6 entry and exit points from the Indian side and 8 from the Bangladesh side
Agreement on Trade and Commerce with Nepal
No formal trade and transit agreement so far.Panitanki near Siliguri in India is designated as the transit route for Bhutan-Nepal trade

25. Bhutan Customs: Current Status
For Third country Imports- majority of the goods are transported in containerized cargo.
Goods coming from India- are transported in open trucks
Free entry and exit of vehicle to the country within proximity 7-10 KM
Multi-enforcement agencies involved to clear the goods

26. BHUTAN CUSTOMS: CHALLANGES
Lack of tracking equipments for tracking the movement of good for predictability purpose
Goods transported in open truck rather than in containerized vehicle.
Lack of multi-access bypass from importing country to exporting countries.
Bad road condition.
Multi check post on the highways (local authorities)
Timely border coordination meetings

27. THANK YOU & TASHI DELEK