In the process, the government has already laid out phase-wise plans for reconstruction of some heritage sites and important structures across the country.

Towards improving the living standards of the quake victims, the government has also begun reconstruction of damaged houses.

Schools are among the key public infrastructure hit badly in the April 2015 earthquake.

As the latest reports say, reconstruction of around 4,190 school structures has been completed across the country as of March 12, 2019.

While 3368 of them were taken by the school management committees (SMCs), 64 were assigned to contractors and 758 were supported by the Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs).

Still 2,043 schools including 1437 schools through SMCs, 314 through construction entrepreneurs and 292 schools through NGOs are in the process of reconstruction, informed the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) Project Implementation Unit (Education)’s Senior Engineer Uddhav Nepal.

Addressing a programme organized by NRAPIU (Education) and the Education Journalists’ Group (EJG) in Dhulikhel, Uddhav said the reconstruction of 41 schools has been completed so far and 113 more are under reconstruction in the region.

The authorities are aiming at the reconstruction of 154 schools in Kavre, Sindhupalchok, Dolakha, Ramechhap, Sindhuli, Okhaldhunga, Kathmandu and Bhaktapur areas at a total investment of  NPR 9.6 billion with the support of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), USAID and the Government of Nepal.

According to the authorities, the reconstruction of 66 per cent of the schools selected for rebuilding has been completed in Dolakha, Ramechhap, Gorkha, Dhading, Lalitpur, Nuwakot, Rasuwa and Makwanpur districts.

Wish the completed school projects would soon resume their regular activities offering help to the needy.

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The post April 2015 Earthquake Reconstruction: 4000+ Schools Completed So far! appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

The Development Cooperation Report 2018 released by the Finance Ministry on January 16, 2019 showed a 16 percent rise in foreign aid disbursement to Nepal (USD 1.62 billion) in the ended fiscal.

World Bank topped the list of aiding agencies with USD 533.51 million support, showing a 54 percent year-on-year rise in funding.

Asian Development Bank (ADB), United Kingdom, USAID and European Union stand as the major contributors.

Majority of the funding was focused on economic reforms, education sector, health, urban development and local infrastructure development.

It is noteworthy that the World Bank’s funding to the nation has increased during and after the 2015 earthquake. Even the other agencies also showed a growing trend with regard to offering financial support post the earthquake incident.

Top-5 Disbursements from Global Funding Agencies Aid to Nepal- A Glance at Comparison (in NPR)

Of the total disbursed amount, 50.5 percent of the fund came in the form of loan, 35.1 percent in grant and 14.4 percent as technical assistance.

It is notable that 78 percent of the foreign aid has come under in line with the budgeted requirements, reflecting in the government’s annual budget book.

Country-wise

The United Kingdom emerged as the top-3 donor after the world’s leading funding agencies, while Nepal’s closest neighbors did not appear in the list and were at 8^th and 9^th positions, respectively.

India’s contribution to Nepal during the year was USD 56.76 billion, down 4.2 percent year-on-year.

Sector-wise

Economic sector topped the list with regard to sector-wise receiving of funds, followed by education sector, urban development, health, local development, energy and housing.

“The increase in disbursement was due mainly to the implementation of ‘First Programmatic Fiscal and Public Finance Management Development Policy Credit’ funded by the World Bank,” said the report.

Bagging on Capacity Development

Finance Minister Yubaraj Khatiwada is hopeful that the donations would further go down as Nepal is moving on the path of development with good number of institutional reforms and enhancing its capacity to pay-back loans.

It’s clear. Drop in grant means our loan will grow,” he told a press conference on Wednesday. “As Nepal aims to graduate to the league of developing nations by 2022, we will have to focus on mobilizing the loans received under the low interest rate more prudently and in a transparent manner,” says the Minister.

The post Foreign Aid to Nepal: World Bank Tops, Govt Eyes Capacity Development appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

A recent update informed that the Gautama Buddha International Airport in Bhairahawa is nearing its completion to become operational by early 2019.

The much-delayed airport got 50 percent of its physical infrastructure development completed by June 2018 and is awaiting the technical infrastructure part.

The finished 50 percent work covered 70 percent of the civil works and the remaining 30 percent of task involves setting up of Air Traffic Management (ATM) and Communications, Navigation & Surveillance (CNS) systems.

Encouraged at June’s progress report, the #AsianDevelopmentBank (ADB) has decided to step into the project again.

ADB was supporting the project as a key financier, but moved out in December 2017 citing slow execution from the Nepal Government’s side in meeting the set deadlines.

“The project has achieved better-than-expected result in June. ADB has been considering continuing support for the project and we are in regular discussion with them,” says Sanjiv Gautam, Director General, Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN).

According to Gautam, the project is currently awaiting final base laying works including that of the runway that are expected to be completed by end of July 2018.

ADB has so far provided USD 58.50 million in loans & grants followed by OPEC Fund for International Development’s (OFID) USD 15 million loan and CAAN will bear the remaining expenditure as part of counterpart funding.

The project was initially set for a December 2018 deadline after months of delay and has been finally been set to a revised operational deadline of June 2018.

The airport project is aimed at promoting Bhairahawa’s potential as a growing industry hub of Nepal and also to drive more international tourists to Lumbini, Birthplace of Lord Buddha, which is 22 km away from the Gautam Buddha International Airport at Bhairahawa.

The post Aviation Update: Nepal’s New Int’l Airport Nearing Completion! appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

Interview by Sai Nikesh D

Nepal has come a long way in development. As a nation sharing borders with the world’s two major economies, Nepal has been striving to become a developing country and grow further to achieve the developed country status.  As a process, the Government of Nepal has been actively participating in various global and local level platforms promoting country’s strengths and potential to development, and is sincerely aiming to see the benefits as part of its UN 2030 Agenda.

Continuing with a wide coverage on Nepal and its developments over a period, Nepali Sansar, as a Nepal-focused media house, got a chance to get in touch with Dr.Ek Raj Ojha, Senior Sustainable Development Consultant from Nepal, for a better understanding of the country’s progress towards its set goals.

Dr. Ojha, with his sound expertise in working with national and international level organizations like ADB, UN and government departments in sustainable development and planning, policy framework, among other key aspects of development and planning, shared a valuable information in this regard, helping us portray a complete picture of Nepal and its developmental path over a period and towards future.

Following are a few excerpts of Nepali Sansar Bureau’s detailed interaction with Dr. Ojha:

The post Dr Ek Raj Ojha appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

Mukhtor will lead ADB operations in Nepal and will be responsible for the formulation and implementation of ADB’s Country Partnership Strategy for Nepal, informed ADB in its recent official statement.

ADB’s Country Partnership Strategy aims at supporting a country’s long-term development needs by means of human capital, private sector and infrastructure development, while also ensuring social inclusion and regional integration.

“ADB has an extended development partnership with Nepal. My priority is to build on that partnership, work closely with the government, and effectively coordinate our country office’s extensive support to the government’s development agenda and poverty reduction efforts,” Mukhtor said in a statement.

Mukhtor held various senior positions at ADB since his joining the organization in 2001 and lastly served as the Principal Energy Specialist in the Energy Division for South Asia at ADB headquarters in Manila, Philippines.

Mukhtor’s appointment comes as a replacement to the outgoing ADB Country Director for Nepal, Kenichi Yokoyama, who served the country since 2011 and is now the Country Director at ADB’s India Resident Mission.

Nepal is a founding member of ADB and has so far received USD 5 billion in private and public sector loans, technical assistance and grants from the Bank.

This announcement gains significance in the light of a recent move by the Nepali Cabinet, wherein, it has approved USD 150 million ADB loan for infrastructure development in Nepal.

The post ADB Nepal Gets its New Country Director appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

Nepal’s GDP is forecast to grow by 4.7 percent in FY 2018, down from a preliminary estimate of 6.9% in FY 2017, said the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in its latest report.

The report, titled Macroeconomic Update 2017: Nepal, which assessed Nepali economy in terms of fiscal, real, monetary and external sectors also indicated rise in inflation to 6.5 percent in FY 2018.

The GDP forecast for FY 2018 has been revised down from an earlier estimate of 5.4 percent in the wake of recent floods in mid-August, which affected one-third of the country inundating paddy and other major crops in the Terai belt. 

This situation is likely to have negative impact on the country’s farm output and economic growth in FY 2018, thus leading to inflationary pressure, the report highlighted.

Because of the increasing trade deficit and fall in remittances, Nepal’s current account deficit is also expected to widen from 0.4 percent of GDP in FY 2017 to 2.2 percent of GDP in FY 2018.

Meanwhile, the industrial activity is likely to be positive buoyed by increased supply of electricity and availability of construction materials. “It is likely to expand by 6.6 percent in FY 2018, albeit down from a growth of 10.9% in FY 2017,” the report noted.

Overall, “the economy rebounded strongly in FY 2017 from FY 2016, a difficult year with external shocks. This year, we expect economic growth to revert somewhat to the trend growth rate, partly because of floods. Reforms to improve the quality of public and private investment and to encourage a competitive private sector would reduce the economy’s dependence on external factors such as the monsoon and prospects for remittances,” says Sharad Bhandari, Principal Economist and Officer-in-Charge of ADB’s Nepal Resident Mission.

USD 150 Million Loan for Infrastructure Development

In a move supporting Nepal’s overall development, ADB has approved a USD 150 million loan for the urban and infrastructure development in Nepal.

This loan intends to improve the delivery of urban services across the country and ensure proper infrastructure across eight municipalities in southern Nepal. 

The project targets at ensuring sustainability and development of over 1.5 million population of the country.

“Improving urban infrastructure and service delivery in major urban areas in Nepal, including in the Terai region, is a must, given their importance to the country’s economy and development. Towards these aims, the project will ensure that people in the southern parts of Nepal are living in areas that are safe, sustainable, inclusive, and resilient to climate change,” says Vivian Castro-Wooldridge, an ADB Urban Development Specialist.

Incorporation of climate-resilient and sustainable features, flood-related support across municipalities, construction and rehabilitation of storm water drains, roads, resource recovery centers, sewage system are among other key issues to be covered under the project.

The post Nepali Economy to Slowdown in FY’18 Due to Recent Floods appeared first on Nepali Sansar.