Nepal inks $150-mn loan pact with World Bank for post-Covid growth

Nepal inked a concessional loan agreement of USD 150 million with the World Bank (WB) on Sunday for post-COVID-19 recovery and development.

Nepal Finance Secretary Sishir Kumar Dhungana and WB, Country Director, Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, Faris Hadad-Zervos, signed the loan document.

A concessional loan is a debt instrument where more favourable terms are agreed upon for the borrower than the market place.

After signing the agreement, Dhungana said the funds will help Nepal build back better and greener, especially in view of the adverse effects of the pandemic.

"The proposed budgetary support will be utilised in infrastructure projects and economic recovery... according to the requirements and priorities of the government, he said.

"The financial assistance will help speed up the ongoing large development projects, creating jobs, accelerate markets, and support green recovery," the Finance Ministry said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Nepal reported 1,920 new cases of coronavirus on Sunday, taking the nationwide tally to 665,777. The death toll rose to 9,009 with 34 more fatalities, heath officials said.

Authorities said 6,000 swab samples were taken for RT-PCR tests in the last 24 hours, of which 1,353 results returned positive. The virus was detected among 567 people in antigen tests conducted on 3,836 people in the same period.

There are 40,336 active coronavirus cases in the country. The number of people who have recovered from the disease is 584,334.

In the last 24 hours, 3,007 people have recovered from the disease. Nepal's COVID-19 recovery rate stands at 92.2 per cent.