KATHMANDU, Jan 26: Switzerland has agreed to contribute a total of CHF 9.9 million (equivalent approximately NPR. 1 billion) to Nepal to expedite the construction of bridges and facilitate improved access through Motorable Local Road Bridge Programme (MLRBP), Phase III. 

The proposed phase will further build on the confidence of the government on the Swiss technical support and strictly follow the national labor standards during the construction work, according to a press statement issued by the Embassy of Switzerland in Kathmandu on Thursday. The proposed phase is considered to be an expansion phase of 3.5 years from March 2017 to July 2020. 

The agreement to this effect was signed and exchanged between Swiss ambassador to Nepal Dr Jörg Giovanni Frieden and Joint Secretary, International Economic Cooperation Coordination Division at Ministry of Finance Baikuntha Aryal on behalf of their respective governments on Thursday. 

Over the last six years of the project phases, MLRBP has supported the construction of 390 bridges government financed and 25 SDC-financed in 75 districts, of which 137 bridges have been completed and vehicles are operating on the roads connected through these bridges. “With the construction of these bridges, an additional 2,000 km of local roads have now become all-weather roads, benefitting a total of over 1.2 million people around the zone of influence of these bridges within a reach of 2-4 hours of walk from their residences,” said the statement. 

 
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