COUNTRY BACKGROUND - Gross National Happiness Commission

Transport Sector
15.9 The Department of Civil Aviation provides infrastructure at Paro Airport, Air Traffic Control facilities,
navigational and communication facilities and security for National Airline. It is also responsible for the
formulation of rules and regulations to ensure safe operation of Royal Bhutan Airlines and enters into bilateral
agreements with other countries to facilitate the establishment of air links. The Bhutan Government Transport
Service under the Department of Civil Aviation is charged with the responsibility of providing transport services
through private operators and monitoring of passenger services on various bus routes operated by private parties.
The Department of Civil Aviation and BGTS has a Driving Institute in Phuntsholing which offers driving lessons
for both heavy and light vehicles.
Department of Works and HousingDepartment of Works and Housing
15.10 The suspension bridge programme is implemented by the Public Health Engineering Division (PHED) of
the Department of Works and Housing, Ministry of Social Services. The PHED is responsible for the planning,
surveying, site selection, design, procurement of construction materials and supervision of the construction by
Dzongkhag District Engineers. At the construction stage, communities contribute at least 20% of the cost in terms
of labour. Communities are responsible for regular maintenance of suspension bridges, although the Government
assists the communities in renovations which require imported materials such as steel frames.
ConstraintsConstraints
Roads SectorRoads Sector
15.11 The construction and maintenance of roads is technically difficult because of the fragility of the land and
risk of landslides during the monsoon period. The monsoon in the first three years of the 6FYP contributed to
unforeseen expenditures on maintenance of roads and bridges and diversion of labour and machines to maintenance
works. The terrain in which roads have to follow valleys and are cut into hillsides, makes road construction
technically more demanding and costly than in the plains.
15.12 Bhutan's small and widely scattered population and low level of development means that per capita costs of
road development are high, while most roads carry relatively low volumes of traffic.
15.13 The shortage of national labourers has been a major constraint and the construction of roads has been
achieved by dependence on foreign labour mainly from India. In order to address this problem, the National
Workforce was established. The purpose of National Workforce was to build a cadre of national skilled workers
with on the job training. The size of the National Workforce employed in the Department of Roads was about 1,700
in 1990, with another 2,200 foreign workers. Due to the lack of adequate training and experience, the productivity
of workforce has remained low and the turnover of staff has been considerable. In addition, there has a shortage of
technical manpower, with an insufficient number of technical personnel to operate all equipment.
15.14 The procurement of machinery and equipment has been through open tendering procedures mainly because
of donor conditions. This has resulted in the purchase of a large variety of machinery with different makes and
models. The lack of standardization in the procurement of equipment in turn makes spare parts inventory control
difficult. Most of the imported equipment from third countries and the necessary spare parts are not easily available
in India. Having to depend on importation of spare parts involves lengthy procedures. All of these factors
contribute to considerable idle time for equipment.
Suspension BridgesSuspension Bridges
15.15 The number of suspension bridges planned in the 6FYP were not constructed due to the lack of community
labour. Construction of suspension bridges with beneficiary labour contribution was one among many demands
placed on community labour for development purposes. In some cases there were unskilled labourers for the
construction of bridges, but construction could not take place on schedule because of a shortage of masons among
the communities. The materials used in suspension bridges are cement and steel ropes, and beneficiaries do not
have the skills to maintain the bridges.
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