Kathmandu, August 2-The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has expressed its discontent over the slow progress of the development programs/projects pertaining to the country’s drinking water and civil aviation sectors.
Speaking during a tripartite portfolio review meeting of the Nepal government, ADB and related programs/projects help the capital on Thursday, Deputy Director General of the ADB, Diwas Sharan, said, ’There have been inordinate delays in the execution of such programs/projects. It seems they will not be complete don time.” He pinpointed that the outlook of the works in the Tribhuvan International Airport Expansion Project, Melamchi Water Supply Project and Kathmandu Valley Water Supply Improvement Project is grim. He also urged the government to seriously consider the timely completion of these projects.
During the meeting, Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, Rajan Khanal, said that the government is serious to complete the projects/programs, funded by donor agencies, in a timely fashion. ‘In fact, we have already framed work plans to move forward with the development projects at a fast pace.”
The ADB so far has offered the loans, grants and technical assistance worth $ 2.34 billion to Nepal. Of the total amount, the latter has repaid $108 million to the former.
