Nagmati Environment and Water Project (ADB-57150-001)

Regions
  • South Asia
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Countries
  • Nepal
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Financial Institutions
  • Asian Development Bank (ADB)
International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.
Project Status
Proposed
Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.
Bank Risk Rating
U
Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."
Sectors
  • Agriculture and Forestry
  • Climate and Environment
The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.
Investment Type(s)
Loan
The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.
Investment Amount (USD)
$ 110.75 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ ADB website

Updated in EWS Feb 9, 2026

Disclosed by Bank Dec 16, 2025

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Project Description
If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

The project is aligned with ADB's Strategy 2030 operational focus on tackling climate change, building climate and disaster resilience, and enhancing environmental sustainability, and contributing to making cities more livable. The project is part of ADB's broader integrated strategy to address Kathmandu valley's water security and urban environment restoration.

PROJECT RATIONALE AND LINKAGE TO COUNTRY/REGIONAL STRATEGY

The Kathmandu Valley, home to over 3.5 million people, is the economic center of Nepal and has been growing rapidly over the past two decades. Between 2001 and 2021, the population of the three districts within the valleyKathmandu, Lalitpur, and Bhaktapurgrew by 84%, compared to the national growth of 26%. This has put tremendous pressure on the water resources of the valley. The inter-basin Melamchi water supply scheme financed by ADB, is the main source of domestic water for the valley. It currently supplies 170 million liters per day (mld) and the expansion of the system to draw water from the Larke and Yangri rivers in the second phase, will eventually supply a total of 510 mld, which is lower than the projected demand by 2050. The current deficit is being met by abstraction of surface water from the Bagmati and its tributaries, and groundwater. In the dry season, almost all of the water is currently abstracted from the Bagmati River above Sundarijal (the base of the northern hills). This has severely impacted the environmental flow of the Bagmati River, resulting in a biologically dead river downstream, where the river holds high religious and cultural significance to the citizens of the valley and pilgrims who visit the world heritage site of Pashupati Temple.

IMPACT

A clean, green, and healthy Bagmati River system that is full of life and valued by all, restored (Preparation of Bagmati Action Plan).

OUTCOME

Environmental water security and quality in the Bagmati River Basin improved.

 

Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.

Contact Information
This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.
Responsible ADB Officer: L'Hostis, Marie
Responsible ADB Department: Sectors Department 2
Responsible ADB Division: Agriculture, Food, Nature, and Rural Development Sector Office (SD2-AFNR)
Executing Agencies: Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can submit an information request for project information at: https://www.adb.org/forms/request-information-form

ADB has a two-stage appeals process for requesters who believe that ADB has denied their request for information in violation of its Access to Information Policy. You can learn more about filing an appeal at: https://www.adb.org/site/disclosure/appeals

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF ADB

The Accountability Mechanism is an independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who believe they are likely to be, or have been, adversely affected by an Asian Development Bank-financed project. If you submit a complaint to the Accountability Mechanism, they may investigate to assess whether the Asian Development Bank is following its own policies and procedures for preventing harm to people or the environment. You can learn more about the Accountability Mechanism and how to file a complaint at: http://www.adb.org/site/accountability-mechanism/main.

How it works

How it works