Cabinet to take ADB loan, grant for roads; wildlife overpass planned in Tikauli forest

The Cabinet has decided to accept assistance of about 305 million US dollars in loans and grants from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for road improvement.

Announcing the decision of Tuesday's Cabinet meeting, government spokesperson and Minister for Education and Sports Sasmita Pokharel said this includes 285 million dollars in concessional loans and 20 million dollars in grants. The loan amounts to about Rs 43 billion and the grant to about Rs 3 billion.

The loan will be used to widen the roughly 70-kilometer Narayangadh-Hetauda road to four lanes, and to build a two-lane road across the river from Muglin to Marsyangdi. The grant will be spent on building a wildlife-friendly overpass about 2 kilometers long in Chitwan's Tikauli forest. The overpass, proposed on the ADB's own suggestion, is estimated to cost about Rs 5 billion.

The meeting also approved the Fertilizer Control Order, 2083, listing nano fertilizer, biostimulants and organic fertilizer as essential substances. The deadline for filing applications for distribution of tenanted land has been extended to Kartik 2085, and the deadline for completing the process to Asar 2086.

The Cabinet also decided to send a high-level delegation to COP31, the UN climate conference to be held in Antalya, Turkey, from Kartik 23 to Mangsir 4. The meeting additionally recommended to the President two ordinances amending several laws, including the Press Council Act.