Building Back Safer in Nepal

In April 2015, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake ravaged areas of Nepal resulting in thousands of deaths and injuries and flattening entire villages. CDM Smith was called upon help the country recover. Supporting the Government of Nepal and earthquake-affected communities, the project team is planning, managing and monitoring reconstruction of critical public facilities, including schools and health facilities, and aims to strengthen private sector participation in reconstruction.

In close coordination with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and Nepal’s National Reconstruction Authority, the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Health, CDM Smith is helping to identify, prioritize, design, procure support and supervise construction on several task orders for the USAID Nepal Community Reconstruction Program (NCRP). Following a thorough study of the Nepal National Building Code standards, and completing facility needs assessments, site investigations and pre-design planning, CDM Smith’s designs incorporate seismic requirements, disaster resiliency, energy efficiency and sustainability.

Beyond engineering services, CDM Smith is establishing a health & safety (H&S) culture in Nepal, providing H&S training as well as quality control and quality assurance training to construction and local staff. Because the project sites are located in remote areas, which can present hazardous conditions during the rainy seasons, the CDM Smith team developed a safe journey management procedure for accessing sites. Our efforts are building institutional capacity that will continue to benefit the local teams into the future by making health and safety a priority. 

Stakeholder engagement is a critical component of the project’s success, allowing for incorporation of local values in the designs and acceptance by the community. CDM Smith supports community outreach, infrastructure prioritization, conflict mitigation, social and environmental consultations, safety and security awareness, and all other aspects that are relevant to facilitating infrastructure design and construction.

The project is expected to be complete in April 2022.