ADB to provide USD 15 mn loan to Nepal for urban development

The Asian Development Bank will provide a USD 150 million loan to Nepal to improve its urban infrastructure, Finance Ministry said today.
The Manila-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Nepal's Ministry of Finance signed the loan agreement in Kathmandu, a ministry statement said.
Shankar Prasad Adhikari, Secretary at the Ministry of Finance, and ADB country director Mukhtor Khamaudkhanov signed the agreement for investment that will cover eight municipalities located in southern Terai and far west of Nepal.
The ADB is ever ready to collaborate with Nepal in the implementation of Nepal Government's national urban development strategy, Khamudkhanov said.
The ADB has pledged to provide a loan assistance of USD 150 million, around Rs 15.4 billion, to Nepal for the implementation of Regional Urban Development Projects, the statement said.

The Ministry of Urban Development is the executing agency of the project while implementing agencies are the concerned municipalities and the Kailali-based office of Department of Urban Development and Building Construction, the statement said.

The project will be completed within five years and is expected to enhance urban infrastructure in the Terai region, reduce the flooding duration to less than an hour in its eight municipalities.
It includes the construction and rehabilitation of 200-km storm water drains, improvement of 240-km-long roads, construction of at least 40-km-long footpaths, building four sanitary landfills and resource recovery centers, as well as construction of 20-km-long sewers.

Earlier, the ABD said it will provide USD 152 million to Nepal for the implementation and enhancement of its power transmission and distribution.
The bank had approved a USD 80 million loan in 2013 to Nepal to rehabilitate its sewerage network and build treatment plants to deal with over 90 million litres of wastewater a day in the capital Kathmandu.