KATHMANDU: An agreement to acquire Rs 18.25 billion in loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has been signed for the modernization of power grid in the country.

The agreement was signed by Joint Secretary of Finance Ministry Shree Krishna Nepal on behalf of the government and Country Representative of ADB in Nepal, Rudy Van Del at a programme in the Ministry on Wednesday.

Joint Secretary Nepal shared the information that the loan would be utilized to upgrade the power transmission and distribution system and make power supply more sustainable and trustworthy. Similarly, it would be utilized for the capacity building and upgrading of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA).

In addition to the loan by the ADB, Nepal government and NEA would manage the remaining Rs 4.56 billion for the project.

The project would help control electricity leakage, and create an atmosphere to export surplus power to the neighboring countries, according to the Finance Ministry. NEA is the authority to implement the project. RSS