Kathmandu: The government has decided to accept Rs 50.51 billion in soft loan provided by the World Bank for various projects ranging from roads to bridges. The subsidized loan would be utilized for the projects of strategic road network and upgrading of trade route and bridges.
According to National News Agency Nepal, the spokesperson of the government and Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Prithvi Subba Gurung, informed media persons that the World Bank Group was providing Nepal with Rs 29.72 billion for strategic road network and trade route upgrading projects and around Rs 20.79 billion grant for the third phase of bridge upgrading project.
The Minister shared this information while announcing the Cabinet decisions. As per the Cabinet decision, the government will also accept grants of Rs 1.8 billion from South Korea for implementing a project on inclusive rural development in Bardiya district.
The Minister was detailing the outcomes of the Cabinet meeting held on Monday. Additionally, it was decided that Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli would visit Spain, leading a Nepali delegation from June 30 to July 5.
The Cabinet agreed to present an agreement to be made with WTO on fishery in the federal parliament. Moreover, there were transfers of high-ranking officials, including secretaries; DIG of the Armed Police Force, Ganesh Bahadur Thadamagar, would be promoted to the post of AIG.
A Nepali delegation will be formed to attend the 16th meeting of the Nepal-India bilateral consultation group scheduled in Pune, India, on June 23-24. Furthermore, the use of 43.66 hectares of land in the national forest in the Nawalparasi Purba area would be permitted for constructing the 400-KV double circuit power transmission by the Millennium Challenge Account Nepal Development Committee (MCA).
The Cabinet also approved the foreign visits of several ministers for international events, including Minister Gurung’s participation in the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS+20) and the AI for Good Summit, 2025 in Geneva, Switzerland, from July 7 to July 11.
Finally, the government gave the nod to acquiring membership in the International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA). The Alliance is a global initiative launched by India in 2023 to promote collaboration in the protection and conservation of seven big cat species: Tiger, Lion, Leopard, Snow Leopard, Puma, Jaguar, and Cheetah.