The Government of Nepal and the World Bank signed an agreement equivalent to $80 million (approximately Rs. 10 billion) concessional loan for a project to improve the delivery of water and sanitation services and promote integrated water resources management.
The agreement was signed by the Finance Secretary, Madhu Kumar Marasini, on behalf of the Government of Nepal, and the World Bank Country Director for Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, Faris Hadad-Zervos. The Water Sector Governance and Infrastructure Support Project will be implemented in strategic towns and rural municipalities in Karnali and Sudurpashchim provinces. Both provinces have low access to water supply and sanitation services, a higher incidence of poverty, and are vulnerable to climate change. The project will help the local governments develop viable institutions to deliver water supply and sanitation services sustainably and efficiently. The project will also strengthen the accountability of the sector to customers by building the monitoring and regulatory capacity of provincial and federal government agencies in the sector. These will be complemented by investments in construction and rehabilitation of vital water supply and sanitation infrastructure, as well as water-quality surveillance facilities and monitoring systems.
