Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: Nepal and Japan have signed an agreement for an additional concessional loan of 5,700 million yen (approximately Rs 5.26 billion) for the Nagdhunga Tunnel Construction Project.
Finance Secretary Ghanshyam Upadhyaya and Japanese Ambassador to Nepal Maeda Toru signed the Exchange of Notes and Record of Discussions for the assistance on behalf of their respective governments at the finance ministry on Wednesday.
Japan previously provided a concessional loan of 16.636 billion yen to Nepal for the implementation of the project in 2016. This new assistance will be used to fill the resource gap arising from price adjustments, design changes and additional work. This new tranche of funds will bring the total loan amount for the project to 22.336 billion yen.
The Nagdhunga Tunnel is the first mountainous traffic road tunnel in Nepal. Upon its opening later this year, this vital infrastructure is expected to ease traffic congestion on the main highway linking Kathmandu to the rest of the country.
Speaking on the occasion, Finance Secretary Upadhyaya said this agreement will help further enhance development cooperation between Nepal and Japan. Likewise, Ambassador Toru stated that Japan remains committed to extending its support to Nepal’s development efforts.
