Kathmandu, 18 November: The Government of Nepal and the World Bank signed two separate agreements today that will help strengthen urban governance and the financial sector in Nepal in support of the country’s COVID-19 resilience and recovery efforts. The agreements for the Nepal Urban Governance and Infrastructure Project and the Finance for Growth Development Policy Credit were signed by Finance Secretary Sishir Kumar Dhungana on behalf of the Government of Nepal, and the World Bank Country Director for Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka,  Faris Hadad-Zervos.

“We are thankful to the World Bank for the support in strengthening urban development and improving financial sector stability in Nepal,” stated Dhungana. “The projects support Nepal’s implementation of federalism and the financial sector reform agenda, while contributing to the government’s recovery efforts from the Covid-19 crisis.”

The $150 million (around Rs. 18 billion) Nepal Urban Governance and Infrastructure Project will support municipalities located in two strategic urban clusters: Eastern-Terai region (Provinces 1 and 2) and Western region (Gandaki Province and Lumbini Province). Through Nepal’s’ first dedicated Urban Sector support, the project will finance strategic infrastructure in the targeted cities, based on the priorities of the municipalities and their citizens.

Similarly, recognizing several initiatives and strong commitment of the Government of Nepal in strengthening financial sector stability, diversifying financial solutions and increasing access to financial services, the Bank offered the $200 million (around Rs. 24 billion) Finance for Growth operation as a budgetary support. It will support enhanced supervision of risks confronting the banking and financial institutions, especially in the context of the pandemic’s impacts. The operation will also help build capital, insurance, venture capital and private equity and disaster risk financing markets through regulatory reforms, according to a press release issued by the World Bank.