Nepal, India hold joint meeting, give impetus for infrastructure development

Nepal and India on Thursday held a virtual meeting on infrastructure development in the Terai region of Southern Nepal and reviewed the progress in road construction activities.

Kathmandu:Nepal and India on Thursday held a virtual meeting on infrastructure development in the Terai region of Southern Nepal and reviewed the progress in road construction activities.

The 4th Joint Project Monitoring Committee (JPMC) on Strengthening of Road Infrastructure in the Terai region of Southern Nepal and reviewed the overall implementation of the Government of India funded Terai Roads project in Nepal and expressed satisfaction at the good progress made with the completion of 13 out of 14 road packages, according to Indian Embassy sources here.

Anurag Srivastava, Joint Secretary (Northern) of the Ministry of External Affairs of India and Keshab Kumar Sharma, Joint Secretary from Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport of Nepal, co-chaired the Joint Project Monitoring Committee (JPMC) meeting.

"Both sides noted that despite the challenges posed by the Covid pandemic, the project has made good progress and is in the final stages of completion," an official statement said.

India had committed NR 800 cr (Rs 500 cr) in 2016 for the construction of 10 roads (divided into 14 packages) with a total length of 306 km in the Terai region of Nepal. These roads connect the East-West Highway to the Indian border, thereby increasing the ease of connectivity between the people of the two countries.

Both sides noted that 13 out of 14 road packages have already been dedicated to the people of Nepal jointly by the Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport of the Government of Nepal and the Ambassador of India to Nepal on March 31.

(PTI)