Bhutan Livable and Resilient Cities Project (LRCP)

In Thimphu, Bhutan's capital, urban transport runs almost entirely on imported fossil fuels, driving rising emissions. As glaciers retreat, floods, landslides and water stress are increasing, and the city's inefficient water system delivers supply for only three to nine hours a day. The pressures fall hardest on low-income households, women and persons with disabilities.

The Bhutan Livable and Resilient Cities Project (LRCP) will make Thimphu's water supply more reliable and support a shift in urban travel towards low-emission transport. It will climate-proof the water system, from intakes and slope stabilisation to pipelines, filtration and digital monitoring. It will build Bhutan's first bus priority system, an 18.9-kilometre corridor served by 50 battery electric buses, and pedestrianise part of Norzin Lam. It will create a ring-fenced water services division within Thimphu Thromde and make the City Bus Service an autonomous state-owned entity.

LRCP aims to make public transport a credible alternative to the private car in Thimphu for the first time, with institutions built to sustain it. GCF grants will fund public-good infrastructure and concessional loans will fund revenue-generating assets such as electric buses, keeping debt affordable for the City Bus Service.