Nim Dorji

Works and Human Settlements Minister Dorji Tshering and JICA Chief Representative Kozo Watanabe inaugurated the Telengangchu bridge on the Trongsa-Gelephu highway yesterday.

It is one of the four bridges JICA built and handed over to the ministry yesterday.  The other three are Beteni, Passang and Samkhara bridges.

Passang Zam was inaugurated in January 2020.

With the support of Japan, 26 bridges were constructed so far including the four bridges.

The bridges on this crucial highway were built before the 1990s and in need of refurbishment as they provide vital connectivity between Trongsa and Gelephu.

“With these bridges, movement of people and goods will be safer and more stable, contributing to even more vigorous economic activities in the crucial region of Bhutan,” Kozo Watanabe said.

The construction has helped to create employment and sustain the local economy hit by Covid-19.

Chief Representative of Japan International Cooperation Agency, Kozo Watanabe, said that basic infrastructure development like bridges and lands slope protection was an important aspect of Japanese cooperation so far.

“With the new bridge constructed, I’m sure that people’s mobility will be more safe and resilient,” he said. 

Meanwhile, Bhutan’s ambassador to Japan, V Namgyel, and Ambassador of Japan to Bhutan, Satoshi Suzuki, signed a grant contract worth 8.67 million Yen to procure buses for women’s shelter homes in Wangsisina, Thimphu on February 26.

The Japanese government over the years have been supporting Bhutan in many different areas — agriculture, telecommunications, rural electrification, construction of bridges, and building of schools, among others.  Bhutan has also received support from Japan to fight the pandemic.