The Christchurch earthquake in New Zealand in 2011 not only claimed lives and caused extensive damage to homes and other public infrastructure but also reshaped how engineers, architects and planners think disaster-resilient infrastructure. 

Recently, ten engineers and architects from Bhutan spent six days in Christchurch, enhancing their expertise in damage assessment and retrofitting of critical urban infrastructure, drawing lessons from the city’s post-quake reconstruction lessons. 

“Beyond gaining technical skills in flood-resilient design, seismic assesment, and retrofitting, we were reminded that engineering professionals must always remian mindful that our decisions directly influence the safety and lives of people during disasters,” said Tshering Norbu, an Executive Architect with Department of Infrastructure Development (DoID), Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport (MoIT).

Since returning home, Tshering and friends have been working together closely to apply the knowledge and skills they gained into bolstering Bhutan’s efforts to advance disaster-resilient infrastructure. 

Currently, the team isclosley involved in strengthening resilience of central schools with a goal make 60 such schools more reislient to disasters by 2028. “This project involves demolition, remodeling and new construction. Previously, decisions about demolition, remodeling, or retrofitting were largely based on building age, visual inspection, or instructions from authorities, with no standard checklist or technical guidance. Thanks to the training, we now have a solid technical foundation to assess structures, allowing us to make more informed choices about their future,” said Tshering Norbu. 

“We have had chance to gain hands-on experience in flood risk assessment, structural damage evaluation, and seismic retrofitting. The skills and knowledge we gained will directly support the implementation of our 13th Five-Year Plan (development plan), which prioritizes safe, inclusive, and climate-resilient public infrastructure,” said Nikesh Chhettri, Engineer with DoIT.

The team also serves as Training  of Trainers (ToT) and will train 72 architects, planners, and engineers across the country in disaster-resilient construction over the next two years. This enhanced nationwide capacity will help institutionalize risk-informed planning practices, enhance design and management of critical infrastructure, reducing long-term operation and maintenance by an estimated costs of at least USD 34 million.

This critical and timely training in New Zealand was supported through the project “Disaster Resilient Infrastructure Project (DRIP)”, a partnership of the Royal Government of Bhutan, UNDP and the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI). 

With $640,000 in funding from CDRI’s Urban Infrastructure Resilience Program (UIRP), funded through the Infrastructure Resilience Accelerator Fund (IRAF), the project is also supporting risk-informed planning, data-driven decision-making processes and early warning system for critical urban services (storm water system, urban infrastructure design, monitoring and operation and green urban open spaces) in the three cities: Thimphu, Phuentsholing and Samtse—home to a quarter of Bhutan’s urban population. 

For more information, please contact:

Ms. Dechen Wangmo, Communications and Partnerships Analyst, E-mail: dechen.wangmo@undp.org

Mr. Kinzang Dorji, Project Manager, E-mail: kinzang.droji@undp.org