Under the project dubbed Bridges Improvement and Maintenance Program, 89 bridges, many over 35 years old, will be maintained, 300 bridges will undergo major and minor maintenance and 121 new bridges will be built, says a WB statement.[break]
“Three quarters of the bridges require urgent maintenance and the costs are estimated at under $250,000 per bridge,” the statement quotes Farhad Ahmed, task team leader at the World Bank, as saying. “Similar estimates suggest that most of the new bridges will cost less than $1 million each.”
The program will be financed through a new World Bank financing instrument called the Program for Results or P4R that links disbursements of funds directly to the delivery of verifiable results. The Bank will provide approximately 40 percent of program financing, with the Nepali government providing the remaining 60 percent.
This is the first P4R to be approved by the World Bank´s Board under IDA, the Bank´s concessional financing window, according to the statement.
The program will support the strengthening of institutional systems and will develop transparent implementation arrangements, including linking disbursements to verification of results, third party monitoring, use of social accountability tools and technical audits.
“Through this new P4R instrument, the World Bank support will contribute toward improving access for the population of Nepal, especially those living in remote areas,” the statement quotes Tahseen Sayed, World Bank country manager for Nepal, as saying. “We hope it will also create greater economic opportunities for men and women” she said.
The World Bank has so far funded six road projects in Nepal.
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