The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a concessional loan of USD 40 million for the Decentralised Rural Infrastructure and Livelihood project.

Finance Secretary Bhanu P. Acharya and ADB’s country director for Nepal,  S. Hafeez Rahman, signed into an agreement to this effect in the Nepali capital Thursday.

The project focuses on addressing root causes of the conflict in Nepal and supporting an integrated approach to rural development. “The project will help reduce the incidence of poverty in 18 very poor remote hill and mountain districts affected by the conflict, particularly targeting poor and disadvantaged groups,” said Rahman, speaking at the signing ceremony.

According to the ADB, the project will extend the network of improved rural transport infrastructure, consisting of roads, trails, and pedestrian bridges. It will also invest in small, community level socio-economic infrastructures. “The project will provide employment, empower rural communities for development, increase institutional capacity, and improve accountability and transparency by supporting the government’s decentralisation process,” said Rahman.

The project will be implemented over the next six years since 2005.

Speaking at the ceremony, Finance Secretary Acharya thanked the ADB for its continued assistance for Nepal’s development endeavors.