ADB to extend $ 100 mn garnt to Nepal

Singapore, Dec 12: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is extending extend 100 million dollars in banks to help reduce poverty in isolated areas of Nepal, ensuring more inclusive and sustainable economic growth.

The Rural Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Sector Development Programme will also receive 10-million-dollar loan from the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Fund for International Development, the multilateral financing facility of the OPEC that channels aid to developing countries.

The Manila-based ADB will manage the loan.

With the support of OPEC Fund, ADB will provide much-needed resources to promote good governance and poverty reduction by improving the policy environment for inclusive growth and reconstructing and rehabilitating rural infrastructure in remote areas of Nepal.

The assistance package is made up of a 50 million dollar programme grant and a project grant, which will be funded by another 50 million dollar grant from ADB, the loan from OPEC Fund for International Development, 15.7 million dollar from the Nepal Government, and 2.7 million dollar from beneficiaries.

''We will focus on reducing rural poverty in hill, mountain and lowland districts in Nepal where isolation and hardship are common,'' Natural Resources Economist of ADB's South Asia Department Jiangfeng Zhang said.

''It will focus on immediate post-conflict development priorities for accelerating poverty reduction and inclusive development to enhance the delivery of public services and improve access of rural residents to economic opportunities and social services,'' he added.

Nepal is the poorest country in South Asia with an annual gross domestic product per capita of about 300 dollar as of 2005.

UNI