Nepal, ADB sign $100M loan to srengthen public finance & local services
The agreement was formalized on Wednesday at a ceremony held at the Ministry of Finance.
KATHMANDU: The Government of Nepal and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have signed a concessional loan agreement for the second phase of the Public Financial Management and Decentralized Service Delivery Strengthening Program.
The agreement was formalized on Wednesday at a ceremony held at the Ministry of Finance.
The agreement was signed by Finance Secretary Dr. Ghanshyam Upadhyaya on behalf of the Government of Nepal and ADB Resident Representative for Nepal, Ano Kuba, on behalf of the bank.
Under the agreement, ADB will provide $100 million in policy-based financial assistance to Nepal.
The loan has a total tenure of 24 years, including an eight-year grace period.
The interest rate is set at 1 percent during the initial phase and will rise to 1.5 percent in subsequent years.
Speaking at the ceremony, Finance Secretary Dr. Upadhyaya said the program will play a key role in making public financial management more transparent, accountable, and effective, while strengthening Nepal’s federal governance system. “This program will support transparent, accountable, and effective public financial management and will significantly contribute to reinforcing our federal governance system,” he said.
ADB Resident Representative Kuba expressed the bank’s commitment to continuing support for improving service delivery and strengthening collaboration with the Nepalese government.
The program aims to ensure effective use of public resources, strengthen financial discipline, improve revenue mobilization, and enhance budgeting and expenditure management systems.
It also seeks to boost coordination between federal, provincial, and local governments, building local capacity and ensuring result-oriented development outcomes.
Senior officials from the Ministry of Finance and ADB attended the signing ceremony.
