KATHMANDU: Japan has expressed happiness over the successful completion of the Melamchi Water Supply Project, a national pride project that has started distributing safe drinking water to Kathmandu Valley denizens.

President Bidhya Bhandari officially inaugurated Melamchi water distribution at a program in Kathmandu Friday.

The water treatment plant (WTP) in Sundarijal, a crucial component of the overall project, was funded by Japan. Japan provided loan assistance of around 5,494 million Japanese Yen (equivalent to Rs 5,806 million) for the construction of the plant. The Government of Japan signed an E/N on this loan with the Government of Nepal in March, 2001, and the construction was completed in December, 2017.

The plant has the capacity to purify 85 million liters per day, which make clean water for Kathmandu residents to become free from keeping water at tanks at their homes, or fetching water from the communal wells when they need.

The Embassy of Japan in Nepal hoped that the clean water from the Melamchi River will contribute to better health, improving daily lives and upgrading the standards of living of Kathmanduites. It further adds that the successful completion of the project will further strengthen the relationship between Japan and Nepal, and the friendship of people in the two countries.