Nepal gets $220 mn aid for reconstruction from ADB, EU

Kathmandu, May 4: Two leading donors - the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the European Union (EU) - on Monday pledged an additional $200 million and 16.6 million euro ($18.5 million) respectively to help in rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts in the aftermath of the massive earthquake in Nepal.

The ADB has pledged $200 million for reconstruction work in quake-hit areas, Finance Minister Ram Sharan Mahat tweeted on Monday. [Nepal earthquake: Shocking! Mt Everest shrinks by an inch]

Mahat is currently in Azerbaijan capital Baku to take part in the 48th ADB General Assembly and to garner international support for Nepal in rehabilitation efforts.

During the ADB meeting, Japan's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Taro Aso proposed a donor conference to raise funds to help Nepal in this time of crisis.

Mahat asked during the meeting for an assistance of $500 million for reconstruction efforts.

Meanwhile, the European Commission (EU) also approved financial support of 16.6 million euro ($18.5 million) to assist Nepal.

This assistance will be provided directly to the government later this week.

Following the joint EU-UN mission to Nepal, an additional 3 million euro of emergency aid was also made available on Monday, bringing the total of the European Commission's support since the earthquake to 22.6 million euro.

This comes on top of bilateral assistance from EU member states. [Meet the Kung-Fu Nuns and others who protected Nepal]

"This support is an expression of our solidarity with the Nepalese people. It is vital for the government of Nepal to allow relief efforts to continue, as well as to kick-start rehabilitation work after the devastating earthquake. As soon as the needs assessments are completed, we will look into how we can further assist people in Nepal," Neven Mimica, the EU commissioner for international cooperation and development, said in a statement.

The Nepal government has already announced the setting up of a national reconstruction fund to rebuild the physical infrastructure that collapsed or suffered damage in the earthquake, and has earmarked 20 billion Nepali rupees for the fund.

The fund aims to collect a total of Rs.200 billion.

IANS