Physical infrastructure is the basic foundation of the country's development. Physical infrastructure serves as the backbone of the development of every sector including education, health, agriculture, industry, and tourism. When I myself was the Minister of Economic Affairs and Planning of the Karnali State Government, we made the main slogan of the Karnali State Government in the budget - 'Education, health, production and employment: physical infrastructure for that!'

We must consider the fact that the development of infrastructure opens the door to overall development. Physical infrastructure is also the engine of economic development. Physical infrastructure is the basis of production growth, job creation, capital formation and prosperity. It is necessary to form our national approach regarding physical infrastructure development, which is the 'milestone' of economic prosperity. 

Poland experience 

Poland is a living example of the importance of infrastructure development. For about 129 years, Poland, which was a colony of Russia, Germany (Prussia) and Austria, was robbed of all its resources and made like a pauper. Poland, which is only a skeleton of underdevelopment and poverty, has succeeded in making a leap in the development of the physical and economic sectors in a short time after independence. 

A few years ago, when I visited Poland, I asked the ministers, parliamentarians and mayors there, "How did Poland achieve miraculous development in every field in such a short period of time?" All of them had the same answer that, "We first developed the infrastructure of 'connectivity' and 'electricity', after that the development of all sectors proceeded at a rapid pace." 

After Poland became independent, its government first brought roads and electricity to people's homes, introduced farmer- and entrepreneur-friendly policies for agriculture and industrialization, and the development of every sector was very rapid. After roads and electricity, it became easy to develop education, health, agriculture, industry, technology etc. As a result, the people got services and the economic development of the country was also possible. It is important that we take education from Poland and make infrastructure development the first priority. 

road transport 

If the construction of the North-South Corridor, which is in the form of 'Trilateral Connectivity', is completed, it will be easy to send goods including food produced in the Terai to the mountains, to deliver the fruits, vegetables and herbs produced in the mountains to the Terai and to export goods to the neighboring countries. Road transport is of great importance in Nepal. Road transport is the easiest option for citizens' transport facilities and goods transportation. The history of road transport in Nepal and its development journey is long. The Ranas carried the motor from Bhimfedi to Kathmandu and drove the vehicle in Nepal. Today, people have easy access and the most used road transport. 

In our country, highway and road construction work was carried forward without making a long-term plan, i.e. 'Transport Master Plan'. Roads are built based on influence, access and desire rather than necessity. The East-West Highway is the backbone of the country from east to west. Apart from that, Pushpalal Madhyapahari Lokmarg, Hulaki Highway and North-South Corridors are projects of national pride. 

The concept of East-West highway is scientific. The important 'East-West Highway', which is the 'life line' of the country, should be completely upgraded to at least four lanes from Mechi to Mahakali. The work of Narayangadh-Butwal section, which was accelerated when I was the Minister of Physical, Infrastructure and Transport, has now made a lot of progress. Pushpalal Madhyapahari Lokmarg is the 'way of life' of the people of Madhyapahar. It should be completed as soon as possible. 

A program should be conducted to develop various centers of Lokmarg as new cities and to support production and economic activities on the right and left side of Lokmarg. Only then will it provide transportation facilities to the people and also help in economic development. In the same way, the "life line" of the people of Terai Madhesh, the Hulaki highway is almost being completed. It is necessary to complete the rest of the road and bridge works. 

The under construction Madan Bhandari Highway will also connect the entire country by connecting the lower hills and interior Madhesh that are not covered by the Midpahari and East-West highways. It is necessary to complete the sections including Rolpa and Surkhet as soon as possible and proceed with the construction work as soon as possible by ensuring the budget arrangement and resources in the rest of Salyan and the Far West section. Thus, the completion of all east-west highways as soon as possible should be the priority of the state. 

Now, from the point of view of economic development, priority should be given to the important North-South Economic Corridor. North-South corridors will be very important not only for transportation, but also for business promotion, job creation and other economic activities. If the construction of the North-South Corridor, which is in the form of 'trilateral connectivity', is completed, it will be easy to send goods including food produced in the Terai to the mountains, to deliver the fruits, vegetables and herbs produced in the mountains to the Terai and to export goods to the neighboring countries.

If the Karnali Corridor is completed, millions of Indian pilgrims going to visit China's Mansarovar and Mount Kailash will pass through Nepal. When the Very Corridor is constructed, it will be possible to export valuable herbs including high quality yarchagumba from Dolpa to China and India. Kaligandaki Corridor, Koshi Corridor as well as North-South road network including Karnali, Rapti, Seti, Mahakali, Mechi highways should be the priority of the government for the development of economic activities, employment, trade and tourism. Now our Arjunadrishti should be focused on that. 

The condition of various highways connecting the federal capital is very unstable at the moment. The Narayanghat-Muglin road should be regular and protected, the work of Muglin Nagadhunga road should be completed quickly, and the work of Muglin-Pokhara road, which has been progressed with great emphasis, should be completed. In the same way, BP Highway, Kanti Lokpath, Arani Highway and other highways connecting the capital Kathmandu should be given high priority and kept in regular operation. 

The government of Nepal has given the status of national highways to 80 highways across the country. They are not equal in terms of needs, services they provide and even cost. Some of them are of strategic importance and some of them are written in the accounts of the national highway in terms of political access. They need to be re-evaluated and prioritized. In general, the roads should be kept under the jurisdiction of the state or local government and important highways should be given priority and completed quickly.

We are currently practicing the federal government system. Therefore, priority should be given to the public road connecting the provincial capital and the district headquarters. Even now, Surkhet, the capital of Karnali province, does not have easy access to the federal capital. Simkot, the headquarters of Humla, has recently been connected to the national road network after the construction of Belybridge. Even though the road is connected to the headquarters of Dolpa, there are no easy facilities as the bridges are under construction. As some of the district headquarters do not have easy road transport facilities, at least the roads connecting all the district headquarters should be upgraded as soon as possible. Border link roads and inter-provincial roads should be upgraded under the jurisdiction of the federal government. 

To provide transportation facilities to major tourist destinations, the federal government should prioritize the construction of tourist roads. The government should be serious about bringing tourist roads to the tourist spots like Rara, Khaptad, Badimalika, Phoksundo, Kupinde, Swargadwari, Muktinath, Gosaikund, Halesi, Pathibhara and attracting tourists. The federal government should build the access roads to the big industrial areas and industries and the roads connecting the commercial centers. Since it is impossible to build the roads connecting the center of the municipality with the capacity of the state or local level, it is appropriate to build them in partnership with the federal and state governments. 

road classification 

The first decision I made when I assumed office as the Minister of Physical Infrastructure was, 'To classify the roads of the union, state and local levels and to form a working group for that.' Accordingly, the working group has given its report. After passing the said report by the Council of Ministers, the Union, state and local governments should implement the roads at their respective levels on the basis of classification by making legal provisions accordingly. 

tunnel 

Keeping in mind the geographical situation of Nepal, it is very important to develop the tunnel. Because the geography of Chure, known as the lower hills, is very fragile, it is very difficult to build and maintain roads in this area. In the same way, the upper and higher mountains known as the Mahabharata mountains are very hard rocks, so it is difficult and expensive to build a road through the hard rocks. In such geography, tunneling can be a good and sustainable option. 

After the success of Nagadhunga and Siddhababa tunnels, Nepal has entered the successful tunnel era. For fast, safe and reliable transportation, priority should be given to the development of tunnels wherever possible. 

railway

It is necessary for the government to make a clear vision about the construction of the railway. The need for North-South Railway and Kathmandu Terai-Madhesh Fast Track is connected with Nijgadh International Airport. Considering our limited resources, the fast track should be completed and operationalized as soon as possible. It does not seem necessary to advance the North-South railway. 

The dream of Kerung-Kathmandu-Pokhara-Lumbini railway has also been shared. It would be appropriate to limit this 'dream project' to a dream for now. The East-West railway should also be reconsidered. Since the land has been acquired and the Nijgadh airport is also to be built in the future, the work of East-West railway should be continued from Kakadbhita to Nijgadh. As the east-west highway is already long, it is advisable to postpone the railway from Nijgarh to West Mahakali. The people of Chitwan and other urban areas, slums and productive areas, who are worried about the acquisition of their real estate, will also feel relieved.

waterways 

The potential of waterways in Nepal should be studied. There is no possibility of large-scale waterways in Nepal. But small boats, cruises, boats, etc. can be used in the flat and wide areas of the big rivers of Nepal. These vehicles can be used for commercial purposes of movement and transportation of goods. On the other hand, water transportation can also be used to attract tourists. However, the waterway is not a priority of the government. 

Airway

An alternative to road transport is air transport. Although expensive, air transport is fast and convenient. Compared to the rest of the world, Nepal's skies are not so safe, but air transport is relatively safe and reliable when road transport is very unsafe. Due to the lack of easy and quality road facilities in mountainous regions like Nepal, air service is of great importance and need. But there is a lot of improvement to be done in air and civil aviation sector. Therefore, it is necessary to pay serious attention to the development of this sector. 

Especially the construction and upgrading of the airport is the need of the moment. First priority should be given to expanding and upgrading Tribhuvan International Airport as much as possible. Due to political and electoral interests, billions of budgets have been poured into the airport, which should not be given much importance, and the return of which does not seem to be able to raise investment for decades. Airports built in different districts are not functioning and the government's investment has been wasted. This trend must be stopped. 

Billions were invested in Pokhara International Airport, but now there is not a single international flight per week. Bhairahawa International Airport also does not have many international flights. The investment of these two airports was wasted, on the other hand, it has been revealed that billions of dollars of corruption were involved in the construction of both airports. The culprits should be investigated and punished. In particular, Nijgarh International Airport should be built as an international airport as soon as possible.