Regional Development Strategy

Project Description

The key objective of the TA is to introduce a clearly defined spatial dimension within the National Planning Framework whereby the development potential of the country can be better exploited by :-
• coordinating sectoral plans and programmes to facilitate and stimulate economic growth potential, which is neither uniform or equal in its distribution throughout the country,
• addressing issues of inequity and poverty by carefully targeting investment as packages to selected areas,
• improving national budgeting procedures and processes in line with the above, and
• incremental adjustment to the administrative structure and institutional responsibilities, taking into account policies for decentralisation.

It is recognised that the output of the TA can contribute to the current debate towards a federal Nepal in which governance is devolved to regional assembles. To date, much of this debate has been politically inspired along ethnic lines. This study does not enter into this debate but rather examines what can be done to enhance the economic performance of the country for the betterment of all citizens, the poor in particular, irrespective of their ethnic origins.

Assignment Description

Macro-economic: • Conduct a macro-economic review of Nepal's economy with attention to the role played by regions and their scope for enhancing contributions nationally and internationally. • Assess the extent to which the priorities and allocations within the MTEF and national budgets correspond to the conclusion of a) above. • Analyze the nature/distribution of economic activity, and it's linkages with hinterlands (both internally and externally), to define economic regions for planning purposes. • For each economic region, assess their economic potentials and formulate recommendations to exploit these as a central part of their development concept and multi-sector investment program. • Assist in identifying key investments and financial studies to assess their feasibility. • Review and recommend public-private partnership modalities (where appropriate) as a means to minimize the public sector financing requirement for the multisector investment program and key projects • Financial review of the 10th Five Year Plan, the national budget and any other document relating to the distribution of funds for national and regional development. • Preparation of recommendations for improved disbursement of development funds, taking into account above conclusions, the overall recommendations of components 1 and 2, and the Government's policies for decentralization. • With regard to financial procedures/practice, review the institutional, administrative and legal framework and prepare appropriate recommendations for improvement or reform. • Involvement in participatory exercises with stakeholders. • Assist in the preparation of training programs and manuals concerned with economic and financial affairs for monitoring, evaluation and updating of the strategy Transport Planning: • Review of transport policy, related programs and committed projects. • Assessment of road access, aviation services and any other means of transport as a critical determinant for the definition of economic regions. • Identify a program of improvements to transportation services, consistent with the development concepts for each economic region • Assist in the identification and preparation of key investments, their feasibility assessments and their suitability for private sector financing. • With regard to transportation, review the institutional, administrative and legal framework and prepare appropriate recommendations for improvement or reform. • Involvement in participatory exercises with stakeholders • Assist in the preparation of training programs and manuals concerned with transportation for monitoring, evaluation and updating of the strategy. Infrastructure Planning & Engineering: • Assess the quality and quantity of the infrastructural services available in the regions and identify deficiencies in the level of service. • Prepared indicative costs for proposed investments identified in the development concepts and multi-sector investment plans for each economic region. • Prepare tentative designs and costs, along with appropriate feasibility studies, for the key investments identified in each economic region. • Review the institutional, administrative and legal structures related to infrastructure and recommend adjustments or reforms Trade & Tourism: • Assess the prevailing patterns of trade, marketing and tourism in terms of its characteristics, constraints and potentials and identifying economic regions, and preparing regional development concepts and multi-sector investment programs for each region. • Identification, preparation and feasibility assessment of key projects that relate to trade, marketing and tourism. Agriculture Economics: • Working in close collaboration with the environmentalist and natural resource planner assess prevailing land use from an agricultural perspective in terms of crops, cropping patterns, inputs, yields, marketing etc, and summarize constraints and potentials including identifying economic regions, and preparing regional development concepts and multi-sector investment programs for each region. • Identification, preparation and feasibility assessment of key projects that relate to agriculture. Natural Resources: • Working in close collaboration with the agricultural economist and environmentalist, assess the prevailing natural resources in terms of existing land and potential land uses. • Identifying economic regions, and preparing regional development concepts and multi-sector investment programs for each region. • Identification, preparation and feasibility assessment of key projects that relate to utilization of natural resources. Environment: • in collaboration with the agricultural economist and natural resource planner, assess the environment in order to identify areas of sensitivity, for which regulations are necessary to control or preserve the fauna or flora, as well as areas of special interest, which may represent development potential. • Identifying economic regions, and preparing regional development concepts and multi-sector investment programs for each region. • Assist in the identification, preparation and feasibility assessment of key projects that relate to the environment. Social and Participatory Development • Identify special measures that may be warranted to uplift their development and better integrate them into mainstream society. • preparing regional development concepts and multi-sector investment programs to ensure marginal groups are included as beneficiaries. • Identification, preparation and feasibility assessment of key projects that relate to social development. • Ensure that stakeholder consultations and participatory exercises give adequate attention to the needs and priorities of marginal groups and ethnic minorities, and that the TA is conducted in a gender sensitive manner