The Ministry of Finance has stated that an agreement on grant aid was signed between the Government of Nepal and the Government of Japan on Thursday at a program organized at the Ministry of Finance.
What you should know
The Japanese government has provided a grant of Rs 2.6 billion for the reconstruction and maintenance of the BP Highway.
The Ministry of Finance has stated that a grant aid agreement was signed between the Government of Nepal and the Government of Japan at a program organized at the Ministry of Finance on Thursday. In the presence of Finance Minister Rameshwor Prasad Khanal and Home Minister Om Prakash Aryal, the Ministry's Secretary Ghanashyam Upadhyay and Japan's Ambassador to Nepal Toru Maeda signed the agreement.
The 159-kilometer-long BP Highway from Bardibas in Mahottari to Dhulikhel in Kavre is an important national highway in Nepal connecting the capital Kathmandu to the eastern Terai. The highway was constructed with the grant assistance of the Government of Japan.
Last year's floods and landslides caused serious damage to various sections of the highway. Especially some parts around the Roshi River were completely damaged. The Ministry said that assistance has been received from the Government of Japan for the reconstruction and maintenance of the damaged sections.
At the same ceremony, the grant agreement was signed between Dhaniram Sharma, Joint Secretary of the Foreign Aid Coordination Division of the Ministry of Finance, and Mitsuzaki Mizuki, Chief Representative of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Nepal, on behalf of Japan. At the ceremony, Finance Minister Khanal stated that Japan is a reliable and trustworthy development partner for Nepal and expressed gratitude for Japan's continuous support in the areas of socio-economic development and infrastructure construction. He said that the current grant assistance provided is another important symbol of friendship and cooperation between Nepal and Japan.
Japanese Ambassador Toru expressed confidence that the grant assistance provided by Japan will help restore the damaged sections of the BP Highway. He recalled the decades-old friendly relations between Nepal and Japan. JICA's Chief Representative Mitsuzaki shared his views on various areas of Nepal-Japan relations and cooperation.
The signing ceremony was attended by senior officials from the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, the Japanese Embassy in Kathmandu, and JICA.
