The Bhutanese Leading the way.
On Thursday afternoon, the Prime Minister chaired the Mid-Term Review (MTR) of the 13th Five-Year Plan for the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport (MoIT). The Ministry’s roadmap is centered around enhancing national connectivity by land and air, and significantly improving the livability of our settlements.
The review highlighted substantial progress in infrastructure development across the country:
National Connectivity
Completed the Detailed Project Reports (DPR) for the construction of two Railway links of Gelephu – Kokrajhar and Samtse – Banarhat.
Ongoing construction of 4 new highways (140 km) and 8 highway improvement projects (194 km).
Completion of 5 major bridges, spanning a total of 382 meters, to link communities.
Improvement and surfacing of 230.5 km of Dzongkhag roads.
Urban Livability & Planning
Expansion of green and open spaces in Thimphu with new and improved public parks.
Progress in urban design with 6 Local Area Plans (LAP) completed and 2 more under preparation.
Water & Agriculture
National basic water supply coverage has reached 87%.
In partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, 23 irrigation schemes are currently at various stages of construction.
Safety & Oversight
Strengthened safety standards for both air and road transport through enhanced regulatory oversight.
The Ministry identified critical technical human resource shortages and resource gaps as the primary hurdles in executing large-scale plan activities.
In closing, the Prime Minister emphasized that the quality of roads and bridges must be given the highest priority with robust quality control and monitoring mechanisms in place. He inquired about the status of the Government Office Complex and the Hejo Crematorium projects, which are being reassessed following recent developments, and directed that these be expedited.
The Prime Minister thanked the MoIT team for their hard work and commended their achievements, while challenging the Ministry to work even harder to meet the ambitious targets of the 13th Five-Year Plan.
