Kathmandu, May 27

The government has received foreign aid commitment worth Rs 222.74 billion from various development partners till the first 10 months of current fiscal 2016-17. The pledged amount will be mobilised through next fiscal’s budget, according to the International Economic Cooperation Coordination Division (IECCD) under the Ministry of Finance.

The World Bank Group has topped the list among development partners with aid commitment worth Rs 49.5 billion followed by another multilateral development partner, Asian Development Bank (ADB) with total aid commitment of Rs 35.5 billion. The aid being provided by the World Bank focuses on financial sector reform, health sector development, social protection and civil registration, and road sector, among others. Likewise, the ADB has pledged support for power sector development, road improvement and education, among others.

The government of India has provided line of credit (LoC) facility worth Rs 79.5 billion to Nepal.

The UK government’s Department for International Development (DFID) has pledged support worth Rs 28.39 billion for post-earthquake reconstruction, health sector improvement and climate change support. A large chunk of DFID’s support worth Rs 10.10 billion will be mobilised in post-quake reconstruction, according to IECCD.

Among the bilateral development partners, Japan is another major development partner of the country, which has provided aid commitment worth Rs 22.77 billion. The Japanese government has provided commitment for some crucial projects like Nagdhunga-Naubise tunnel road and drinking water facility in Pokhara. Japan’s aid will also be mobilised to improve aviation safety facilities among others.

Similarly, United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has provided aid commitment worth Rs 3.19 billion. Norway has pledged Rs three billion for school sector development programme and Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) has committed support worth Rs 900 million, as per IECCD.