Japan assistance for Nepal earthquake recovery

KATHMANDU: The Japanese government on Monday signed an agreement with Nepal to provide Japanese Yen 30 billion (equivalent approximately Rs 26 billion) loan for Nepal's earthquake recovery programmes.

Finance Secretary Lok Darshan Regmi and Japanese Ambassador to Nepal Masashi Ogawa signed the agreement at a function organised at the Ministry of Finance today.

The load would be spent on reconstruction of schools and residential buildings, according to a press statement issued by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) today.

Meanwhile, the two governments also signed an agreement for grant assistance of Japanese Yen 4 billion (equivalent to approximately Rs 3.5 billion) for the Project on Rehabilitation and Recovery from Nepal Earthquake.

Both the agreements are parts of the Japanese pledge made at the International Conference on Nepal's Reconstruction held on June 25 this year.

"The emergency school reconstruction project will rebuild and retrofit schools in the districts severely affected by the Nepal earthquake by financing the necessary expense for reconstruction of schools and related facilities, thereby contributing to the improvement of education service and earthquake resilience for sustainable socio-economic growth," the statement read, "Likewise, the emergency housing reconstruction project will restore and improve the living condition of the victims of Nepal earthquake by reconstructing the destroyed and damaged houses with an adequate seismic standard thereby contributing to sustainable socioeconomic development in the region with Build Back Better (BBB) concept."