August 2004
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Achievement of Japan's ODA in Nepal in 2003
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As a close development partner to Nepal, Japan has been extending its Official Development Assistance (ODA) in order to help promote the socio-economic development and increase the well being of the people in this country. In extending economic and technical assistance to Nepal, Japan has given priority to five areas that were agreed upon with prior consultation between the two countries; namely, (i) human resources development, (ii) the social sector such as education, health and medical care, (iii) agricultural development, (iv) basic economic and social infrastructure, and (v) environmental conservation. In addition, Japan has also provided loan aid to Nepal in the past for projects such as the Kulekhani Hydro Power Station, Kaligandaki 'A' and the Udayapur Cement Plant. It is encouraging to note that Japan-Nepal economic and technical cooperation has now crossed more than three decades.
Some of the important achievements of Japanese ODA in Nepal for 2003 are as follows.
- Technical Cooperation between Japan and Nepal
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In 1954 the Government of Japan had started its technical cooperation program by accepting Nepalese trainees in Japan in order to support human resource development in Nepal. In addition to this, Japan has been extending technical cooperation since 1974 in various forms, ranging from the dispatch of Japanese experts to the provision of equipment as well as providing project type technical cooperation.
In September 2003, an agreement was signed for the first time regarding technical cooperation between Japan and Nepal, thus further strengthening the human resource development activities in Nepal. The aim of the agreement is twofold: Firstly, to further strengthen the mutual technical cooperation between the two countries, and secondly, to pave the way for the simplifying and improvement of the cooperation process under a single umbrella framework.
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- Inauguration of Kaligandaki "A" Hydroelectric Project
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The Kaligandaki "A" Hydroelectric Project, which is a long awaited, largest run-of-the-river type project in Nepal with a capacity of 144 MW, has been completed and inaugurated. After the commencement of the project, Japan's contribution to the power sector in Nepal has now reached a capacity of 236 MW, which is an astounding 40% of the present total power capacity of NEA. As a result, the project will contribute to increasing NEA's power supply coverage from 18% to 22% of the total population. The electricity from the Kaligandaki Project is being distributed beyond Syangja District to the Terai, as well as to Pokhara, the Kathmandu Valley and other parts of the nation, benefiting the people of Nepal by contributing to economic, social, health and educational development.
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- The extension and reinforcement of Power Transmission and Distribution System in the Kathmandu Valley
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The grant assistance for this project is expected to contribute to the strengthening of an effective power transmission and distribution system in the Kathmandu valley. It is also expected, that upon completion of this project, the power transmission and distribution capacity of NEA will be considerably increased and the consumers of the Kathmandu valley will have a more reliable power supply.
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- Improvement of Kathmandu Water Supply Facilities
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The construction of the necessary infrastructure in order to improve the Kathmandu water supply is currently underway at the Manohara and Shaibhu sites. With the completion of the project, it is expected that the Kathmandu valley water supply capacity will be augmented by 20.6 million liters per day. The areas that will benefit directly from the project are the southeastern part of Kathmandu, Madhyapur, the western part of Bhaktapur under the Manohara site, and Lalitpur under the Shaibhu site. The amount of people expected to benefit from this will be 267,000 and 160,000, respectively, totaling 427,000 for the target year 2006. Furthermore, this project is also expected to contribute to the reduction of leakage. This will lead to the improvement of water quality as well as quantity, not only in the target areas, but also in other areas of the Kathmandu valley.
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- Improvement of Expanded Program on Immunization
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The grant extended for this project is being used for the renewal of old cold chain equipment and the provision of new equipment in areas such as the central cold chain in Kathmandu and regional cold chain centers in Hetauda, Biratnagar, Pokhara, Nepalganj, Dhangadhi and Butwal. The key objective of the project is to strengthen and expand the nation-wide cold chain capacity in order to ensure quality immunization services, thereby achieving maximum results in reducing the infant mortality rate and the maternal mortality rate. This in turn will help to achieve an improved general health status and an increase in the life expectancy rate.
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- Non-Project Grant Aid
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This Non-Project Grant Aid has been extended in order to promote the economic structural adjustment efforts of His Majesty's Government of Nepal as well as the alleviation of economic difficulties including the Country's debt reduction. This Non-Project Grant Aid comes in the form of foreign currency support so that HMG can secure payments for the import of goods that are urgently needed for the development activities that it is currently implementing. The grant extended under this aid will be utilized for procuring necessary materials and commodities that are essential for development activities of the Kingdom of Nepal.
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- Emergency Rehabilitation of the Sindhuli Road (Section IV)
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Repair work to the 50-km stretch of the Sindhuli Road Section - IV (Dhulikhel - Nepalthok) that was damaged by torrential rain and a landslide in July 2002 is currently in progress. Once the road has been restored to its former state; smooth vehicular movement will resume. This will obviously bring about further improvement in the marketing and price reduction of essential commodities.
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- Emergency Food Relief
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The Embassy of Japan has extended a grant for transportation assistance (from Japan to Nepal) to the Ministry of Home Affairs, as part of project known as "Emergency Food Supply to the Insurgency Affected People". The local governments in Japan and the Japanese public donated emergency food weighing more than 36 metric tons for the Promotion of Diplomacy. The donated food is pre-cooked and dried and is consumable by just adding water. Furthermore, it can be used in emergency situations. The emergency food was distributed to the displaced people in the nine most affected districts of the mid western region - Rukum, Rolpa, Salyan, Pyuthan, Jajarkot, Humla, Jumla, Kalikot and Bardiya.
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- Construction of Primary Schools in Support of Education for All
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This project aims to improve access to primary schools and the quality of basic and primary education in the target districts through the improvement of physical infrastructure. The overall goal of the project is to contribute to the realization of "Education for All" by 2015 set out by the Government of Nepal. The grant provided will be utilized in order to procure the necessary materials for the construction of 732 classrooms, 8 resource center buildings and 232 toilets, as well as the installation of 135 water supply units in Bardiya, Sindhupalchowk, Dang, Kailali, Kapilvastu and Nuwakot districts. In addition, 12,954 sets of furniture for classrooms and 8 sets of furniture for the resource center buildings will also be procured.
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- Grant Assistance for Grassroots Project
The Government of Japan has been extending grant assistance for development projects that are designed to meet the grassroots level need of developing countries under the Grant Assistance for Grassroots Projects (GGP) scheme. The support is provided to local governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) as well as hospitals and schools and other non-profit organizations in order to help implement their development projects at the grassroots level.
In the fiscal year 2003, 6 organizations had been provided with assistance in order to implement their projects.
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The following is some of the GGP projects that were completed in 2003:
- The construction of a Secondary School in Philim, Gorkha is one such project that was completed and handed over in 2003. This secondary school, the first of its kind in this region, has not only helped to create a conducive study environment, but also to contribute to the promotion of the education sector in upper Gorkha (population of about 20,000). A further benefit of the school will be the increased awareness about education that will ultimately lead to an increase in the number of educated people in this area.
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- The construction of a Health Care Center at Kagati village in Nuwakot District is another project completed and in operation. This center is providing health services such as general check-up, pathological tests, emergency treatment, as well as imparting essential information on preventive health care, basic sanitation and nutrition to the children and villagers.
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- The construction of a High Quality Agro-Product Center (HAC) in Lalitpur has been completed and inaugurated. This project aims to establish an appropriate marketing system, that will effectively increase the production of high quality horticultural products as well as creating quality awareness and offering an outlet for the farmers to sell their products. In addition to this, it is also expected to address the problems of establishing an organized marketing in Kathmandu.
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- The supply of Ambulances to Maiti Nepal and TU Teaching Hospital
Three ambulances (one to Maiti Nepal and two to TU Teaching Hospital) were handed over and are in full operation. These ambulances have helped upgrade the existing emergency services providing efficient, door-to-door emergency services for the patients in need.
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List of Grant Aid Projects Extended to Nepal in 2003
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Committed Amount
FY 2002/2003
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SN
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Grant Aid Projects
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(in '000 Yen)
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(in '000 NRs)
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1
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Project for Emergency Rehabilitation of Sindhuli Road (Section IV)
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434,000
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275,590
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2
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Project for Extension and Reinforcement of Power Transmission and Distribution System in Kathmandu Valley - Phase III
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1,380,000
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870,780
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3
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Project for Improvement of Kathmandu Water Supply Facilities
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277,000
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174,233
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4
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Project for Construction of Primary Schools in Support of Education for All
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683,000
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458,293
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5
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Project for Improvement of Expanded Program on Immunization
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262,000
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176,588
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6
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Non-Project Grant Aid
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500,000
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332,500
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7
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Food Aid
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350,000
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227,850
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8
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Grant Assistance for Grassroots Projects (7 Projects)
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33,659
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20,963
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Total
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3,919,659
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2,536,797
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» Japan's ODA to Nepal in 2007
» Achievement of Japan's ODA in Nepal in 2005
» Achievement of Japan's ODA in Nepal in 2004
» Achievement of Japan's ODA in Nepal in 2002
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