Ropeways using cables to transport freight were constructed as part of an effort to provide transport facilities for the populace and to replace human and animal power as a means to traverse the difficult terrain. The first ropeway was initiated in 1922 and was extended twice until reaching its forty-two-kilometer-length.

In the early 1950s, many goods were transported to Kathmandu using ropeways. Ropeways have become less important with the development and extension of roads. Nonetheless, the forty-two- kilometer ropeway that traverses Hetauda into the Kathmandu Valley still was operational in 1991. The transport of food, construction materials, and heavy goods on that ropeway could be accomplished at the rate of twenty-two and a half tons of freight per hour. During the 1985 to 1989 period, the ropeway carried approximately 12,000 tons of freight per year.

Data as of September 1991