WSPimc was made one of the two Finalists for projects the 2010 NCE/ACE Outstanding Achievement Award.

This article was published in the New Civil Engineer Consultants File 2010:

Finalist
Nepal rural access, WSP

Poor road access condemns many communities in Nepal to poverty. The Department for International Development funded Rural Access Programme (RAP) has kick-started economic development in the country by enabling isolated villages to have access to the national economy, as well as health and education schemes.

WSP designed RAP in 2000, then went on to implement the first stage of the programme, which was completed in 2008. The second phase is currently under construction. During RAP1 357km of district roads and 276km of feeder roads were built to connect Nepal's remote hill areas, with a further 365km set to be built in RAP2. A savings scheme was also set up for the 47,000 workers who helped build the roads. A proportion of their wages has been allocated to develop new income generation projects for members of their communities.

Judges' Comment

"An impressive example of infrastructure being used to drive economic development in poor communities"