BCIPN supports municipal governments in Nepal to develop and administer building permits and control systems in order to improve seismic performance of new building constructions.

The majority of the buildings in Nepal are extremely vulnerable to earthquakes. While legislation makes compliance to building codes mandatory, many municipalities lack the appropriate mechanisms and capacities necessary to strictly implement building codes. This challenge was clearly demonstrated by recent survey results, which showed that on average only two engineers are available to a municipality that issues approximately 400 new building permits each year.  Effective building code implementation is one of the most effective ways to reduce the risk of earthquake damage. For this, appropriate interventions are necessary to ensure that safer construction practices become the norm.