KATHMANDU: Representatives from the Department of Roads, Millennium Challenge Account Nepal Development Board (MCA-Nepal) and Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) on Tuesday jointly inaugurated laboratories at the Department of Roads (DoR).

The construction of the labs and installation of lab equipment by MCA-Nepal is an important milestone funded by the MCC-Nepal Compact.

Shiva Hari Sapkota, Director General at DoR,  Khadga Bahadur Bisht, Executive Director at MCA-Nepal Jonathan Brooks, Deputy Vice-President of Europe, Asia, Pacific and Latin America at MCC participated in the inauguration ceremony.

These labs include an Asphalt Mix Design Lab, Superpave Asphalt Lab, Storage Lab and Saw Cutting and Core Drilling Equipment Lab which will play a crucial role in the compact’s $52.3 million Road Maintenance Project.

Speaking at the ceremony, DG Sapkota expressed his pleasure to mobilize the MCC grant in upgrading the quality of roads in Nepal.

Similarly, Deputy Vice-Presiden Brooks said, “The MCC partnership with Nepal is already delivering for the people of Nepal. The inauguration of these state of the art labs marks an important step in the MCC-Nepal partnership projects and will help pave the way towards a more prosperous future.”

Executive Director Bisht shared that these technologies being introduced will revolutionize road maintenance practice in Nepal.

The laboratory and equipment are important components of the technical cooperation in the Road Maintenance Project (RMP) under the Millennium Challenge Compact signed between the Nepal government and MCC on September 14, 2017.

MCA-Nepal will provide the DoR with Technical Assistance of about USD 3.65 million. The Technical Assistance will also support DoR in traffic and road deflection measurement campaign, technical trainings on new road construction technologies and contribute to improved project management activities.

The combined value of laboratory equipment, including Superpave Asphalt Mix Design, Full Depth Reclamation and Falling Weight Deflectometer, is about USD 1.36 million, and the construction cost of the lab buildings is approximately USD 60,000.

The DoR will use laboratory equipment for Road Maintenance Project related activities, including regular training for DoR technicians.