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ADB to provide $100 million loan to improve agricultural roads in Nepal

Kathmandu, December 12

The Asian Development Bank says it will provide a loan of $100 million (equivalent to more than Rs 10 billion) to improve rural roads of Nepal so as to promote more extensive agriculture and agribusiness development in the country.

The ADB Board of Directors’ recent meeting made a decision to this effect.

ADB Senior Rural Development Specialist Lee Ming Tai says the loan will be provided considering that many areas of Nepal are not reaching their high potential in agriculture because of earth roads that cannot be used after rains, high transport costs, and slow movement of goods.

“Improving rural road connectivity to the core road network is key to ensuring that the benefits of economic growth are felt in rural areas,” the official has been quoted in reports, “This is in line with the goal of the government’s Agriculture Development Strategy signed in 2015 of encouraging commercial agriculture, increasing productivity, creating new rural jobs, and reducing poverty.”

The project will improve 388 kilometres of rural roads to all-weather standards and maintain them for three years, bringing better access to 7.5 million people in 16 districts in 5 states that are heavily dependent on agriculture.

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