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Remarks by HE. Mr. Zenji KAMINAGA
On the occasion of the handing-over ceremony
of the project for the Emergency Disaster Rehabilitation of Tribhuvan Highway, Kathmandu District
held at DWIDP on February 7, 2003 at 9:00am
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Mr. Chairman,
Dr. Deepak Gyanwali, Minister for Water Resources
Secretary of Ministry of Water Resources,
Staff of DWIDP, JICA experts to DMSP
Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen
It is my pleasure to be here with you today in this completion ceremony of the Project for the Emergency Disaster Rehabilitation of Tribhuvan Highway, Kathmandu District which was implemented under the 'Grant Assistance for Grassroots Projects (GGP) of the Government of Japan and executed by the Department of Water-induced Disaster Prevention (DWIDP), Ministry of Water Resources, with the technical support of the JICA experts of the 'Disaster Mitigation Support Programme Project (DMSP).
First of all, I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere thanks to all the concerned government officers, related personnel, and JICA experts engaged in this project. I would like to congratulate them for bringing about the successful completion of this project, which will help mitigate further disasters, ensuring uninterrupted vehicular movement to and from Kathmandu. I believe this project has amply demonstrated locally adaptable technology that could be replicated in any other part of this country for disaster mitigation and rehabilitation in future.
I would like to take this opportunity to recall the background of this project. After the slope collapsed 13km from Kathmandu and disrupted the road transportation in the past, the concerned authorities removed the debris and restored one-way traffic for vehicular movement. But, the risk of enlargement of landslides still remained due to the unstable situation of the slope, which could have caused a secondary collapse at any time if emergency rehabilitation work was not carried out in time. Besides this, we also must not forget that the Tribhuvan Highway is a lifeline for the people of this valley and serves as the only corridor linking the Terai and other areas of the nation at present. It plays a significant role in Nepal's road network for socio-economic development. In addition, Tribhuvan Highway, especially Thankot - Naubishe section, is a considerably important segment for this lifeline and has comparatively high disaster potential due to the weak geological condition.
On the other hand, under the technical cooperation of the Government of Japan, the DMSP Project has been implementing disaster mitigation activities in Nepal with the close cooperation of the DWIDP. The DMSP Project has been carrying out different activities for transfer of technology in the field of water induced disaster management, such as community disaster mitigation, disaster rehabilitation, information and technology sharing and disaster mitigation awareness.
Considering these facts, the Government of Japan has agreed to extend the GGP for the implementation of this project. Human resources development, specifically capacity building of the Nepalese personnel involved, would be the main achievement and I hope this part has been well demonstrated by the DMSP Project as a Technical Cooperation Project of the Government of Japan.
I would also like to note an event concerning the DMSP Project and reiterate the Government of Japan's concern related to the water-induced disaster mitigation activities. The Government of Japan places great emphasis on mitigation of water-induced disaster for the development of the Kingdom of Nepal's economy. That is why, Japan's Former Prime Minister Mr. Ryutaro HASHIMOTO, who is the Chairman of the National Steering Committee of the 3rd World Water Forum to be held in Kyoto in March 2003, has visited DMSP project sites to observe the on-going activities of the DMSP Project and provided extremely pertinent advice to the Japanese officials during His Excellency's visit to Nepal in January 2002. This high-level visit shows the importance the Government of Japan places on water-induced disaster mitigation.
Before concluding, I would like to express how happy I am to be involved in this project, which will improve uninterrupted vehicular movement for the countless users of the Tribhuvan Highway throughout the year. Further, I would also like to express my hope that the concerned authorities of the Government of Nepal, will replicate the technology applied in this project in future and apply it in other geologically sensitive areas. Finally, I would like to express my belief that this project will certainly contribute to strengthening the existing friendly relationship between the people of Japan and the Kingdom of Nepal.
Thank you,
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