ADB and World Bank lead support in roads, climate, and electricity transmission projects
Kathmandu, July 16
Nepal has received
foreign aid commitment of Rs. 273.04 billion in the Fiscal Year 2024/25 which
is above the annual estimates announced by the budget of the same year.
Statistics from the
Ministry of Finance (MoF) showed that the country received the commitments of
Rs. 215.54 billion for loan and Rs. 57.50 billion for grants. In the budget of
2024/25, the government had anticipated to secure Rs. 270 billion in foreign
aid – Rs. 217.67 billion in foreign loans and Rs. 52.33 billion in foreign
grants.
The commitments Nepal
received were in infrastructure, transport, environment and climate,
governance, disaster management, agriculture and irrigation, water and
education. Among these, transport sector received the commitment of Rs. 63.94
billion in projects like provincial and local roads improvement, bridge
improvement and maintenance, and strategic road connectivity and trade
improvement.
Energy sector
witnessed a commitment of Rs. 56.41 billion in the projects like power
distribution consolidation, and SASEC Electricity Transmission and
Distribution. Most of the aid is to be mobilised in the SASEC project.
Likewise, aid
commitment in environment, forest and climate change sector stood at Rs. 55.87
billion where priority projects are Green, Resilient and Inclusive Development
(GRID), climate resilient landscapes and livelihood, managing watersheds, and
forests and prosperity.
Other major sectors
receiving the foreign aid in loans and grants are irrigation Rs. 28.47 billion,
water Rs. 25.53 billion, disaster management Rs. 20.13 billion, social Rs. 9.6
billion and agriculture Rs. 9.4 billion. Smaller cooperation commitments were
made in governance, and education as well.
Nepal's development
partners (DPs) in the year are the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, Foreign,
Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) of the UK, Germany, the European
Union, China, Norway, International Fund for Agricultural Development,
Switzerland, World Vision International, Japan and Strategic Climate Fund.
With commitments of
above Rs. 118 billion, ADB has emerged as the largest development partner for
Nepal. It is supporting irrigation, climate resilient livelihood, water supply,
SASEC electricity transmission and distribution, GRID and floods and landslide
emergency response.
Similarly, with about
Rs. 100 billion (including Rs. 1.6 billion in grants) aid commitment, the World
Bank remains the second largest DP for Nepal. It is supporting road
improvements, disaster resilience, GRID, bridge improvement and trade
improvement.
Although complete data
for the FY 2023/24 is not available, the country received foreign aid
commitments of Rs. 120.59 billion by May 22, 2024 – about seven weeks remaining
for the FY to conclude. Commitments included Rs. 74.24 billion in loans and Rs.
46.34 billion in grants.
That year, major
sectors receiving foreign aid were health, road, urban development, education,
public finance management, industry and climate, governance, social,
agriculture, waste management and tourism.
The ADB was the
largest donor in 2023/24 as well followed by the WB, EU, UK, Germany, Japan,
Switzerland and Finland.
Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 17 July 2025.
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