Japan agreed Wednesday to provide a ¥4.8 billion grant to Nepal to improve water supply in Pokhara, the country's second-largest city and a popular destination among tourists.
Under the project, which will be implemented by state-owned Nepal Water Supply Corp. and is expected to be completed in 2022, water treatment plants and distribution infrastructure will be installed and upgraded in the western city.
The agreement for utilizing the official development assistance was signed by Japanese Ambassador Masashi Ogawa and Nepalese Finance Secretary Shanta Raj Subedi at the Finance Ministry.
Jun Sakuma, chief representative of the Japan International Cooperation Agency's Nepal office, said the project aims to provide round-the-clock safe drinking water in the city of about 250,000 people, which is visited by some 230,000 tourists each year.
Shinya Machida, the embassy's deputy chief of mission, called the project a "new symbol of friendship between Nepal and Japan."
Water scarcity is a major problem in the tourist city, with nearly a quarter of total households getting water supply just once a week, while E. coli bacteria have been detected in water reaching 98 percent of households.
Japan has been providing ODA assistance for water supply projects in Nepal, including in rural areas and capital Kathmandu, since 1976.