The mission of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has informed the government that only its board of directors can make any change in the conditions for the Melamchi Water Supply Project (MWSP), according to Kantipur daily.

At the meeting with the visiting ADB mission on Friday, the government had proposed the ADB to start the construction of tunnel as it had completed building access road. However, the mission said it can proceed only as per the project conditions – which only its board has authority to change.

According to project conditions, the government needs to hand over the management of the drinking water system of the valley to private body before the ADB can start constructing the 26-km long tunnel.

The government representatives and ADB delegation led by its deputy director general of South Asian division Sultan Hafeez Rahman are locked in dialogue since Wednesday.

The ADB headquarters had dispatched the delegation following request made by the government of Nepal to proceed with the MWSP.

Earlier, after Minister for Works and Physical Planning Hisila Yami refused to honour the previous government’s agreement to allow UK’s Severn Trent to handle the management of valley’s water distribution system, the ADB had warned it might not renew the funding commitment for the project. However, later it agreed to hold further talks with the government. ADB is the principal donor for the project.