Nepal Infrastructure Bank (NIFRA) and International Finance Corporation (IFC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the development of infrastructure projects in Public Private Partnership (PPP) modality in Nepal.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NIFRA Ram Krishna Khatiwada and Manager, Asia Pacific PPP Transaction Advisory Services of IFC Thomas Lubeck signed the MoU on behalf of their respective agencies at a programme, organised in NIFRA on Friday.

As part of the MoU, NIFRA and IFC will collaborate on accelerating the pace of investment in infrastructure sector by bridging the gap in financial and technical resources required for the country’s infrastructure development, according to a press statement of NIFRA.

IFC will support NIFRA in project identification and screening, preliminary assessment of the identified projects and project specific structuring and bidding assistance in addition to capacity building of the public and the private sector.

NIFRA CEO Khatiwada said, “The MoU between NIFRA and IFC marks a major milestone in accelerating the infrastructure development in Nepal.”

He said that the collaboration of NIFRA and IFC will be instrumental in identifying and developing key infrastructure projects in the country.

Lubeck said, “Nepal's private sector has enormous potential to drive economic growth and create jobs."

He also said the partnership merges IFC's global expertise in transaction structuring with NIFRA’s deep local presence. “This creates a winning combination to harness the strength of private sector to invest and deliver improved Infrastructure for the people of Nepal," he said.

Similarly, IFC Resident Representative in Nepal Babacar S. Faye said, "Our partnership with NIFRA Bank will help to further develop public-private partnerships (PPP) ecosystem in Nepal while contributing towards mobilising more private capital and expertise, particularly for critical infrastructure projects.”

He also said the collaboration is possible because NIFRA and IFC are both strongly committed to promoting sustainable economic growth and improving the lives of people in Nepal.