Asian Development Bank today promised to support Nepal in its urgent need to "accelerate" reconstruction work and ensure rapid recovery from the huge loss caused due to powerful earthquakes that claimed over 8,600 lives.
Vice President of Asian Development Bank (ADB) Wencai Zhang called on Prime Minister K P Oli and other senior officials of Nepal and discussed ways to accelerate its economic recovery and develop plans for sustained higher growth.
"There is an urgent need to accelerate reconstruction and implementation of development programmes to prevent a further slowdown in growth and to ensure rapid recovery," Zhang told reporters after the meeting.
"To expedite unhindered implementation of reconstruction works, the Reconstruction Policy and National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) needs to release sufficient budget immediately, enforce fast-track decision making, and adopt building-back-better principles and innovative approaches for time and cost-efficiency," Zhang said.
Zhang, who was on a 4-day visit to Nepal, also met with Nepal's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Energy Top Bahadur Rayamajhi and Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Paudel.
Under its partnership strategy with Nepal for 2013-2017, the ADB will prioritise major investments in power generation and transmission, enhancing capacity of international airports, building new economic corridors to promote regional trade and reforming higher education systems.
"ADB will continue its support for inclusive growth through investments in agricultural diversification and productivity, water supply and sanitation and rural roads," Zhang said.
"ADB will work to attract private sector investment and public-private partnerships for large-scale hydropower and transmission projects and high-value agricultural value chains," he said.
ADB has forecast Nepal's economy will grow at 1.5 per cent this year 2016, down from after last year's 3 per cent growth.
"ADB will build on its existing support in the energy sector and will extend assistance for 25 MW grid solar power plants and two major storage hydropower projects - the 300 MW Dudhkoshi plant and the 410 MW Nalsing Gadh plant," he said.
ADB had announced USD 200 million soft loan assistance for carrying out post disaster reconstruction and rehabilitation works after providing USD 3 million immediate grant assistance last year.
A 7.9-magnitude earthquake struck Nepal on April 25 last year and another measuring 7.3 on May 12, leaving 8,635 people dead, 21,845 injured, besides destroying tens of thousands of houses.
