Nepal, Japan sign Rs 31.76bn loan agreement for Koteshwor Intersection Improvement project

KATHMANDU: The government has signed a loan agreement worth 34.59 billion Japanese Yen (around Rs 31.76 billion) with the Government of Japan for the Koteshwor Intersection Improvement Project, officials said.

The agreement was signed and exchanged on Wednesday at the Ministry of Finance in the presence of Finance Minister Rameshore Prasad Khanal.

The loan, provided through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), has a grace period of 10 years and a repayment period of 30 years. The annual interest rate is 0.2%. Under the project, an underpass and a flyover will be constructed along the Koteshwor–Jadibuti section.

Once these major infrastructures are built, traffic congestion in Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Bhaktapur and along the BP Highway is expected to ease significantly. The project will be implemented by the Department of Roads under the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport.

Finance Secretary Dr Ghanashyam Upadhyay and Japan’s ambassador to Nepal, Maeda Toru, signed the exchange notes related to the agreement, while Dhaniram Sharma, chief of the International Economic Relations Division at the Ministry of Finance, and JICA Nepal’s chief representative, Matsuzaki Mizuki, signed the loan agreement on behalf of their respective sides.

On the occasion, Finance Minister Khanal pledged to use his tenure to further strengthen bilateral cooperation between Nepal and Japan, saying the loan support from Japan is significant for improving the Kathmandu Valley’s traffic system.

The Japanese ambassador said that once the project is completed it will bring substantial improvements to traffic management in the Kathmandu Valley and highlighted the long‑standing friendly relations between Nepal and Japan.

Senior officials from the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, the Department of Roads, the Embassy of Japan and JICA Nepal were present at the ceremony.

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