ADB gives Rs 20b to rebuild schools, roads

KATHMANDU, Aug 22:

Asian Development Bank (ADB) is giving US$ 200 million (approximately Rs 20 billion) for rebuilding schools, rehabilitation of roads and bridges damaged by the earthquake.

The fund will be utilized to rebuild and retrofit 700 schools as well as to build five model schools built with all essential infrastructures and facilities. Similarly, it will also be used to rehabilitate 135 km of strategic roads and 450 km of rural roads.

Madhu Kumar Marasini, joint secretary of Ministry of Finance, and Kenichi Yokoyama, country director of Nepal Resident Mission of ADB, signed the agreement for 'Earthquake Emergency Assistance Project' at the finance ministry on Friday. The project's main objective is to restore critical public and social infrastructure and services with strengthened resiliency.

The project has four components. First to rebuild and upgrade earthquake affected schools. Under this, at least 700 schools will be built and retrofitted with improved water and sanitation facilities and sex-disaggregated toilets; and five model schools will be built with ICT equipment, science laboratories and improved learning spaces. In the second component, roads and bridges will be rehabilitated. About 135 km of strategic roads and 450 km of rural roads damaged by the earthquake will be rehabilitated with feature of build back better for road safety and climate resilience, according to a statement issued on Friday.

In the third component, around 300 district-level government buildings damaged by the earthquake will be rebuilt and retrofitted with disaster resilient standards.

The programs of enhancing disaster preparedness and management capacity are in the fourth component which also supports engineering divisions of all implementing agencies to conduct quality assurance on design and works to ensure disaster risk resilient, the statement added. National Reconstruction Authority is the implementing agency of the project, which will be completed by the end of September 2018.

Source: Republica